Blow Up the Outside World
by remember me for how i once was
Summary: Things change. People change. Change is one of the things that moves people forward. Always remember that. AU
1. Chapter 1

**.**

 **.**

When Bella got out of her truck at school, it didn't take her very long to notice the change. Her truck-well, the wheels–they were covered in something silver. When the brunette got closer to take a better look, she could see that Charlie had taken time out of his morning ritual to add something to her giant red monster. _Snow chains_ , she thought with a soft look on her face, hand resting on the side for support. Bella's throat felt tight all of a sudden, standing up a bit straighter. It was a surprise to see this; Charlie caring. It wasn't like she thought her father didn't, it was just she didn't _expect_ it. Of course, either way, it was just like Charlie to do something this protective yet without saying anything or asking for something in return.

He was her father, after all.

She was standing beside the back of her truck when everything set into motion. The weird screeching sound immediately made Bella's head snap up, brown gaze darting about for the source of noise. A van–Tyler's van to be specific. It was making an awful noise while it slid on the ice and it was coming in fast. Right for her. Bella had little time to react, eyes growing larger on her face and body tensing almost automatically. Nothing happened in slow motion, you know, the way it does in movies. Bella reacted the only way she could; startled expression, stuttering of her heartbeat, and her eyes darting over to a particular person.

Edward Cullen. He was four cars down from her, his expression was one of horror. The perfect features were the only thing she was able to lock on. The aghast faces of her friends and classmates, the skidding of the locked on tires on the blue van, her life–it seemed–was the last of her worries. Edward Cullen was there, he was there and he was watching.

 _Edward, Edward, Edward!_ she thought desperately to herself, eyes squeezing shut.

The van finally came to a halt, the wheels finally stopped making that ear-splitting noise. It was deathly quiet when the van made its collision with the red truck, Bella Swan's body a mess between the two vehicles.

 **.**

 **.**

Oddly enough, death hurt.

Or at least, she thought she was dead. Everywhere hurt-even her damn toes.

Where were her toes again? Oh, right. Smashed underneath Tyler's van.

There was red; her blood, perhaps? She surely hoped not. That would stain her clothes, also she would get nauseous. She didn't want to puke on anyone. There was a flurry of noise and yelling, not that Bella could make many out. For some reason, deep in her mind, she found herself disappointed that none of the voices were a certain deep velvet that she had grown accustomed to over the last couple days.

 **.**

 **.**

Her mouth wasn't working. But her ears surely were.

"Isabella? Isabella, can you hear me?"

 _Yes_ , this is what she wanted to say at least. _And it's Bella._

"Isabella, if you can hear me, move one of your fingers."

She tried that. And then tried again. It wasn't working that well.

Bella felt a cold touch on her right hand (she was very happy she was still able to feel, wherever she was–heaven or whatever), and it reminded her weirdly enough of Edward Cullen. It felt like ice cubes were sliding along her skin.

"Isabella?"

"She prefers Bella."

 _Charlie?_

"Ah," the voice spoke up again, clearing its throat. She didn't know why though, it sounded like an angel's. Maybe this really was heaven. But that wouldn't explain what Charlie was doing there. "Bella?"

 _Yes, I'm here._

She heard a sigh, a very familiar one. "Bella?"

 _Present_. She was getting tired of everyone saying her name, even if they got it right.

"Hm," the ice cubes on her hand moved away. She wanted to open her eyes and see why. There was the distinct sound of scribbling on a piece of paper, maybe a ball point pen. Her mother liked using those rather than the messy ones that dripped too much. "Officer Swan, you should try to come back tomorrow. We'll run more tests and see what we can find."

"What does that mean?" Charlie demanded and Bella was startled to hear agitation in his voice. She hadn't heard him like that in awhile. Or it felt like it. Either way, it was very rare.

The angel voice though was rather patient when he responded, "It means we will keep trying."

"You said that yesterday. And the day before."

"I know–"

"So what am I supposed to do? Wait for her to wake up?"

"...Well," there was a heavy pause and Bella listened, wanting to tilt her head to the side slightly to hear exactly what they were saying, "I am not going to lie to you, Officer Swan. She may never wake up," She could already imagine Charlie's expression, his mouth opening to say something, but he was cut off, "Or she will. It all depends on her recovery. She hit her head very hard, she was injured. This is normal, there isn't much we can do but wait for her to respond."

It was quiet again. Bella waited.

Finally, after a beat or two, Charlie said something, "Jesus Christ..." He sounded stressed and crestfallen. "Alright...Alright. And if she doesn't wake up, then what?"

"That is for you to decide." Angel voice replied almost too easily, though his tone was sympathetic. From the conversation, Bella had at least gathered he must've been some type of doctor. He must've been used to delivering this type of news. "But please believe me when I say I will try to do all I can. I will make sure that she is comfortable, her vitals are always checked, and she is in the best condition. If anything changes, I will be sure to inform you."

More silence.

Then a sigh. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

 _Ah._ So she was right. The doctor, the father of Edward. She wished she could see his face and see if he was as beautiful as his adopted children. However, with this new information, Bella was at least able to tell she was unconscious (barely so, she was able to hear), she was in a hospital, and she was hurt. Was this because of the crash? The van? What had exactly happened again? Everything had gone by so fast she wasn't able to keep up, both the incident and this conversation.

Charlie blew out another breath from the other side of the room, breaking her from her thoughts, "Do you know what this means?"

Dr. Cullen seemed bemused, "What?"

"I'll have to clear off the couch. Renee is _definitely_ coming."

 **.**

 **.**

Over the next few days, Bella fell in and out of consciousness. Well, not really. Her eyes refused to open and her body wouldn't budge an inch. In the end, she was rooted to the bed and her mind. It was a little eerie to hear the things happening around her and not being able to react or say anything. Every now and then, she heard Charlie's voice and Renee. Other times, nurses were gossiping or talking to her like she was a baby when they changed her IVs or moved her about. There were others–from school. They all visited in weird spurts, or maybe it just seemed that way to her. Eric and Mike visited frequently from what she could tell. Jessica and Angela as well, but she never heard Lauren's squeaky voice (maybe once or twice before it stopped all together). Tyler came too and it was very comforting to know that he wasn't hurt. He sounded normal to Bella besides the small sniffling whenever he apologized. It was good to know he was safe, wasn't rooted to the bed like herself.

Some days she drifted out completely and she would find herself listening to conversations on different dates. One day she thought she fell asleep for only a couple hours, but when the nurses chatted around her, she discovered a week had passed. That was always frightening to hear. Dr. Cullen also came to her room a lot–he talked to her like normal and brushed his fingers over her hands and forehead to see if he would get any response. Not so lucky there.

Renee brushed her hair.

Jessica and Angela held her hands.

Charlie touched her arm sometimes when he left.

Mike talked about school a lot and told her how worried everyone was.

Not once did she ever hear anything about or from Edward Cullen.

 **.**

 **.**

She lost track of time. It was driving her insane to be in the bed now. Someone, she wasn't sure who, mentioned July.

July when? What year? What was happening? When would she wake up? It was maddening. It was nice to rise out of the dark mist every once and awhile and hear voices and all, to sometimes drift away and think to herself (she came up with pretty good ideas but soon forgot them only moments later), to be able to sleep when she wanted and just be at peace. But soon, it all got to the point of being ridiculous.

 _I would like to wake up now_ , she hissed sardonically in her head. No one heard her.

Of course.

It wasn't like people really heard her when she was awake either. It was easy to flip through her memories and find good instances to her argument–her mother, Charlie, her supposed new friends. Edward, especially. The more she thought it over, the more irritated she became. This anger, she knew, wasn't anything good. She was always told by her mother _"holding in your emotions isn't good, Bella"_. Well, how was she supposed to get it out now? It was just festering inside of her. Bella wasn't particularly sure where this anger came from, but it was oddly refreshing. She felt like she was taking a stand of some sort, putting her foot down.

When she woke up maybe she would try to refrain of being such a pushover. And first thing was first: giving Edward Cullen a piece of her mind. Ignoring her one day, ditching the school, making her feel stupid and resented (not only by him, but his entire family), and being so unforgivably beautiful that she was afraid to ask what was up with him. When she woke up, she would ask. She would get answers, she wasn't stupid.

 **.**

 **.**

One day, she rose above the mist and heard her parents arguing.

This was surprising. Bella wanted to raise her eyebrows.

 _If only I could,_ she thought wistfully.

"You are not moving her!" Charlie hissed, venom in his voice.

"And why not?" Bella could tell her mother was trying to be quiet, "She's my daughter!"

"She's my daughter too!"

"Ha!"

"I'm serious, Renee! You're being ridiculous!"

"I send her here for a _month_ , Charlie! A _month_! And what happens?! She gets in a crash! My daughter is in a coma!"

"So it's my fault?"

"You said it, not me."

"I'm not letting you move her. She's fine where she is."

"She should wake up in a familiar environment."

"Forks would be familiar if you _stayed_!" This was getting really bad. Bella hadn't ever heard her father raise his voice this much, she almost wanted to flinch. She could already see the doctors and nurses slowing their walks hesitantly to make sure nothing got too out of hand. "If you stayed..."

"Don't," she cut him off, "Just... _don't_ , Charlie."

It was quiet again. Bella found herself slipping away, back underneath the mist. She hoped things would be okay.

 **.**

 **.**

The anger she had inside her only rose even more, it seemed. Her parents' arguments got worse, they were beginning to call each other names. Some of the nurses even had to butt in sometimes. Other times, Charlie stormed out or Bella heard the sharp sound of a slap. Was Bella causing this? Was this her fault?

She wasn't sure anymore.

She wasn't sure about a lot of things. The date, her life, names. She was losing herself.

And it made her upset. Upset with herself. Upset with her parents. Upset with stupid Tyler.

Bella wasn't a picky teenager, she rarely threw tantrums-even when she was younger. But now, she wanted to scream, to cry, to curse.

 _Anything_.

Move, raise her voice, blink.

She wanted change.

The sound of people's voices weren't helping much anymore–the comforting and the smell of flowers attached to _Get Well_ cards, the nurses cooing to her as they cleaned her up like she was a newborn, the arguing between family members.

She really wished it would all just stop sometimes.

 **.**

 **.**

One day, to her surprise, she heard a new voice. She was just coming out of recesses of her mind when she heard him.

"...Black...might not..."

Her ears perked up eagerly. Who was this person? Someone she knew?

"Actually," a snort. The voice was nice and deep, she wondered what kind of face he had to match it. "You might remember my sisters. The twins. Rachel and Rebecca. But they went off to college. Don't worry, though. I did let them know you were in the hospital and stuff and Rachel is gonna visit during New Years'."

 _Rachel? Rebecca...?_ Oh. Right. Bella remembered now. Billy Black's girls. The twins. If she recalled, they were a year or two over her so she hadn't seen them when she relocated back into Forks. Who was talking to her again? He sounded much too young to be Billy.

 _If not Billy then_ –

"Uh..." There was a pause, "This might sound weird, but... _sheesh_ , this whole situation is plain weird."

 _You're telling me._

"We used to make mud pies together. Remember?"

 _Mud pies?_

"Crap. Wait. Sorry. You can't answer."

 _It's okay._

"I probably sound stupid, don't I?"

 _No, you're fine._

He snorted again, "Is it bad that I still think you're pretty?"

She wanted to blink. _Pretty?_

Bella could imagine him shifting almost nervously, she could hear him moving about. Maybe in a chair. "Crap. Craaaap. Just shut your big trap, Jake..."

 _Jake? Jacob?_

Was that who it was? If she recalled correctly, he was the russet-skinned boy she used to see around sometimes. He had been a couple years younger than her. Maybe. She wasn't so sure anymore. But the upside was, she _did_ remember him. And, like Dr. Cullen, he was talking to her like a damn human being. Whether or not he called her pretty wasn't really in the forefront of her mind, but that did make her wonder what exactly she looked like. Did the crash do a lot of damage? Change her features? Did she need surgery in any important places? She wondered if she had a scar or two, not that it would bother her much. Right now, all she was thinking about was waking up as soon as possible.

When she woke up now, it was really nice to hear Jacob's voice. She was getting tired of hearing her parents' arguing, after all. Jacob didn't talk about a lot of stuff, mostly his day (what he ate, what he watched on TV, what happened at school). She tried to make sure to listen, but with her pain medications and the way her hearing and mind would get fuzzy at certain moments, she would miss a lot of stuff. Sometimes she would wake up, he would be gone and her nurse was changing her clothes.

Jacob was a nice addition to the little world she was in at the moment. She liked his voice.

 **.**

 **.**

It was frightening to hear that months were going by. Every time she heard something from one of the nurses or her mother or father, it was a different day. A different week. A different month entirely. How much was she missing? A part of her just wanted to give into the comforting mist in her subconscious, to float away completely so she didn't have to listen to her life pass by. But she also knew she would miss hearing their voices–her mother's, Charlie's, Jacob's, her friends.

It made her stomach fold in to know she was giving up slowly. The anger was still there, of course. But it was tiring to be angry, especially when all she was left with were her thoughts and a bunch of time. People were gradually beginning to fall into the back of her mind, they just weren't important to her anymore; Jessica, Mike, Tyler, Phil, even her parents sometimes. Her friends from school visits also became shorter and more scarce, but it didn't affect her as much as she thought it would.

In fact, she couldn't care less.

Jacob still came though. And she found herself looking forward to his visits. He was funny, he always had an entertaining story to give. He was the only thing holding her out of the mist, the only thing that was keeping her from falling over the edge. But Jacob seemed like such an innocent soul, she was glad he didn't know he carried that on his shoulders. He didn't need to know he was the only reason she wasn't allowing herself to perish.

 **.**

 **.**

Jacob's visits became shorter and shorter over a small course of time. He mentioned something about his birthday and she was a bit sad to know she missed it. She got over it fast though, she missed a lot of stuff. She just wished she could at least tell him " _happy belated birthday_ ". Bella wondered if he was busier with school, that would make sense and it made her feel better about missing his company. Hopefully, like everyone else, he hadn't forgotten about her.

She was jerked from her thoughts later that day, though, when she felt a fleeting touch. It almost made her jerk (if she could), it was scorching hot. It was definitely fingers, though, and they were lacing through her own. Intertwining them and she was oddly elated with the contact, it had been a long time since she felt something this warm. Everything in the hospital was so hard and cold-like Dr. Cullen's hands.

The fingers stitched together to hers at the moment were hot, like the person had a fever of some sort. But the touch was familiar, the roughness of his fingertips, the large, masculine feel. Every now and then, Jacob had touched her little by little. He seemed a bit shy to do it in the beginning, but he began grazing her fingers and playing with them as the months went by.

It was quiet in the room. But inside, Bella was ecstatic. Jacob had come to see her, he was here. It had been awhile since she heard his voice or felt his touch.

"Bella," his voice was deeper, hoarse.

 _Is he sick?_

"Shit."

 _He's cursing now?_

"Y'know, I thought this would be easier. Saying goodbye and all...I'm-I'm not even supposed to fucking come here. The damn bloodsucker is pretty much running this place, did you know? It's bullshit. I'm just–" He released a long sigh and she could imagine his opposite hand dragging down his face, "I can't come here anymore, Bella."

 _What?_

"I can't. I just can't. Not with him here. I can't believe I didn't see it before. I mean, I just thought it was stupid superstitions. My dad is big on that stuff. And I thought he was just being overprotective when he yelled at me not to come here a couple months ago. But...But _now_..." His voice took a dark turn, his hand squeezing hers tighter, " _Now_ I see clearly. I see everything clearly now, Bella."

Another pause. She wanted to squeeze his hand back so bad.

"I wish..." He sounded wistful, "I wish things were different. I wish..." Trailing off there, Jacob smushed her fingers between his. It hurt, but she wasn't going to put up any protest (not that she _could_ ). It was weird, though. It sounded like he was in pain, like the whole weight of the world had climbed on top of his shoulders. Slowly, he released her hand, letting it drop gently back to the hospital bed, "I'm sorry. If...If you can hear me, just know, I'm sorry, Bella."

Silence.

"Even if you can't hear me, even if you don't remember this year, I still want you to know, okay? Don't give up. Keep fighting. And get out of this shithole."

 _You can count on that._

With that, Jacob walked out of the hospital room and out of Bella Swan's life.

 **.**

 **.**

There was nothing keeping her there now.

She fell over completely into that mist and didn't return for a very long time.

 **.**

 **.**

Bella Swan rose out of her subconscious when she felt something deathly cold touch her fingers. Almost immediately, she wanted to fall back to sleep. She wanted the peace and quiet and her thoughts, not the sound of her heartbeat and the shuffling of shoes. The touch kept her awake though, they lingered on the back of her hand slowly, as if mesmerizing the feel of her skin. It was odd–there was only one person with fingers that cold and that was Dr. Cullen.

Or so she thought until she heard the voice.

"Bella."

Almost immediately, her heart monitor jumped.

That voice.

That _voice_.

It was like a bucket of freezing water was dumped on her head.

The voice seemed amused when it spoke again, "Well, that was quite the reaction."

 _Screw you._

Where had _that_ come from? Ah, right. She was angry. Yes, angry. Where the hell had he been? How long had it been? Much longer than months. Years, correct? And where had he been? Had he already graduated high school? What about his family? Dr. Cullen was still here from what she could tell (she had been in and out the last few-however long), she still heard his voice from time to time. It was certainly nice to hear Edward's voice, yes, but he had a pleasant voice either way. It wasn't like you could deny it. Anyone would want to hear that voice.

But...was she happy to hear it? Not particularly. She wasn't enthralled with him anymore, at least, not right now. Things were different–she didn't care what he was right now. Supermodel, alien, whatever. Bella just wanted him to go away. She would rather have her parents arguing beside her bed than him standing over her. Yet, he continued talking. "I'm guessing this means you can hear me." Bella wasn't sure if he moved or not. If she remembered correctly, he moved so fluently that she shouldn't be able to hear him in the first place. She could feel his eyes digging into her immobile face. She wondered if his eyes were topaz or black today. He sounded a bit too easygoing for her liking so she guessed it was that warm butterscotch.

"I've..." He seemed to hesitated, "For some reason, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Even over these last few years. Absurd, isn't it?" She could imagine that crooked smile on his face, but she would definitely doubt it was out of humor. "My family thinks I'm being ridiculous. Rosalie especially. She never did take much of a liking towards you."

 _Well, screw Rosalie too._ Not that Bella really remembered who Rosalie was. Was she the blonde girl?

She heard Edward make a small sound of annoyance, "If only...If only I knew what you were thinking. This would be much easier." He mumbled the words in his silky voice, his fingers leaving hers rather suddenly. As if he was just realizing he was touching her and regretted the action. Not that she cared much. "...things would've been better if I had stayed in Alaska. Things would've probably been different, I presume."

 _Does it look like I care? What does Alaska have to do with anything?_

"Forgive me, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about."

 _You think?_

"I cannot imagine how it must be for you," he mused quietly, "Things have changed. A lot of things." There was quiet and she was thankful for that. But of course, he ruined it, "I wanted to know more about you. You...interested me. You still do. Even if it may not seem that way to you."

Again, quiet.

"The van. If I had known, if Alice hadn't-"

 _Hadn't what?_

"I should've been there. But by time the EMTs got there, I was gone. I don't really remember what happened. I apologize."

 _For what?_

Bella could almost hear the smile in his voice, "I wonder if you're annoyed with me right now." He made another sound, she thought it was laughter. It sounded like music. But the air sobered quickly right after, "I wish I could've done something. But if I recall correctly, I remember someone telling me that life isn't fair."

 _Screw. You._

 **.**

 **.**

It was only two days later that _something_ happened.

Her hand twitched.

Her eyelids flickered.

Curious, the nurse that stood over Bella Swan glanced up towards the girl's face. This was peculiar.

And then, shocking the nurse and herself, Bella's eyes flashed open.

 **.**

 **.**

Five years and seven months after the accident, Bella Swan woke up.

 **.**

 **.**

 **Hi, guys. I don't know if you remember me or if anyone is still here or even reading my stories, but my name is Sonny and I was previously known as jaspersonlyone770. Pleeease don't even get me started on how much I hate myself-as you can see, I have not completely left FF, but I was busy. Before I left, I informed you all that I was pregnant. Twins run in my family so I wasn't surprised to get them, but my life has changed a lot. Unfortunately, one of my twins was a stillbirth. Please, no sympathy. It one of the things I hate at this moment-that was years ago and I am moving forward with my life, with my son, Aaron. I love him dearly.**

 **This idea came to me days ago, and I just had the writing muse so I literally said "why not" and started on this. Me writing right now all depends on my mood and life so I can't promise speedy updates. Maybe if I get enough reviews and positive feedback, I will definitely try harder since I have a lot of ideas for this story.**

 **One thing also, I will probably never be returning to my stories. Like-ever. I don't like my writing in any of them. But I don't want to take them down. The mistakes, the typos, the build ups with nothing happening. I didn't like them. And I have kind of moved past Twilight, I'm not that into it anymore and I've kinda gotten past my Jasper Whitlock phase. I still love him of course, more than I will love any other character but now I am focusing on Bella with other people, experimenting more. My writing, I like to think, has grown much more than before. I have grown, importantly.**

 **I hope you guys think so too.**

 **Anyway, I'm sorry that there was no Paul in this first chapter but he will definitely show up in the second or third.**

 **Please leave a little comment/review, I am just coming back and I would absolutely love if you guys supported me. Don't be afraid to leave criticism. Also, sorry for any typos, I don't feel like proofreading or anything.**


	2. Chapter 2

**.**

 **.**

The nurse stared, startled as Bella blinked at her numerous times. There was a long moment of stilled silence before either of them actually moved. The nurse quickly bent over the brunnette, "Jesus Christ, you scared the crap out of me...!" Bella didn't say anything – not because she didn't want to, but because her lips and the inside of her mouth felt too dry to even crack open. She watched as the nurse fluttered around, she wasn't really sure if it was out of surprise or because she was trying to help Bella and didn't know what to really do.

"I'll go get a doctor!" She finally released breathlessly.

 _Yeah, you do that_. Bella thought satirically to herself, still lying flat on her back on the hospital bed. It took the nurse a total of ten minutes to get help (and Bella had taken that time to try and wiggle her toes and fingers – the latter worked out in her favor and she was currently trying to get her eyes to focus on them so she could start trying to count). Bella glanced over towards the doorway to see, indeed, a doctor. Only, he was much more handsome than she thought he would be in a town like Forks.

Ah, right. Dr. Cullen. _Of course_. It had to be him. His hair was slicked back from his face, which, just like his adoptive children, was painstakingly beautiful. It was like if you stared too long, you would go blind. His eyes were a dark shade of gold, narrowed in on her face as he moved fluently to the right side of her bed. It didn't take long for him to start talking. And just like his kids, his voice was smooth and musical, "Bella, how're you feeling?"

 _How am I feeling?_

Confused – she needed to know what day, month, year it was.

Impatient – to be completely honest, she wanted to get out of bed as soon as possible.

Thirsty – she could really use a glass of water too.

"Ah," Dr. Cullen spoke up once more, causing Bella's eyes to dart over to him once more. She hadn't realized her gaze had been wandering around the room and had landed on the sink in the far corner. "I apologize, it must be hard for you to speak. You've been unconscious for awhile now, so I wouldn't expect you to be able to focus immediately." He fiddled with her IVs and monitors for a few minutes before finally turning back to her. "Thirsty?"

She nodded – actually nodded. The movement was startling and jerky. It was way too sudden for her head, because it began to ring as soon as she did it. And her neck just pretty much groaned in protest. Dr. Cullen just smiled a bit at her frown of discomfort, moving away to pour her water into a paper cup. In less than a couple minutes, the top part of her bed was raised a bit so she was sitting up more. It was a nice change and she allowed her eyes to travel over every part of the room from this angle. Dr. Cullen caught her attention again by bringing the cup to her lips, giving a look of comfort and she opened up and tried to swallow as best as she could.

She was thirstier than she first thought. Her throat practically burned at the feeling of the cold water, but her body was instantly delighted. She could've moaned in relief if her vocal cords would've cooperated. But instead, she waited eagerly as the beautiful doctor refilled her glass and helped her drink it down again. He didn't say anything, but she could practically feel the fatherly waves bouncing off of him.

 _Speaking of fathers..._

When she was done with her fourth cup, Bella looked around once more, as if searching for someone. Carlisle seemed to catch the drift, opening his mouth to tell her, "Don't worry. We have already contacted your parents. I wouldn't be surprised if Chief Swan walked through that door in the next minute or so." He seemed sure of himself, and Bella didn't doubt him. Hell, Charlie would probably use his sirens to get to the hospital faster. She simply nodded at him, getting used to the action now. Every once in awhile, she would wiggle her fingers to get the blood circulating in them. She would've tried to move her toes as well, but she found the task was harder to do.

Charlie came barrelling through the door only five minutes later, and Bella glanced up, surprised. She didn't think Dr. Cullen was serious – even though Forks was a small town, the hospital and the police station were pretty far apart. Carlisle only smiled in welcome, but Charlie's eyes were solely focused on his daughter.

"...Bella..." He mumbled, and she wasn't sure if it was directed at himself or her. The same shade of brown eyes locked together from across the room. It didn't take long for him to get over to her, stopping by the bed. The chief of police seemed to hesitate for a second or so before he brushed a lock of dark hair from Bella's face and curled it behind her ear. She was rather befuddled, but she did not say anything – not that she could – but it was pretty new and weird for Charlie to be touching her. Or maybe it wasn't weird since it had been a long time since they had really been able to see each other. They stared at the other for a long time, and she didn't think he would say anything else. His eyes said enough – he was happy, he was so happy to see her that he couldn't even put it into words.

She gave him a tentative smile, her cracked lips curling slowly upwards. It wasn't much, but it was all she could get out at the moment.

Charlie returned the small smile, still stroking her hair albeit very gently, as if she would break any moment. He glanced back up towards the blond doctor, who had gone silent to give them a few moments, "Is she...Is she okay? Can she understand us?"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed a bit.

 _What the hell? What is that supposed to mean?_

Though, the offense to his comment boiled down after just a couple seconds. She had been hit by a van and had been in the hospital for possibly years. So she shouldn't be surprised by the answer. For all she knew, she could have brain damage. But Dr. Cullen answered rather smoothly, "We'll have to do a couple scans and tests before we start with developmental coordination therapy. There wasn't much spinal damage, so she should be able to walk in a matter of weeks if her recovery goes well. Make sure she has a stable appetite and weight. We'll make sure she's able to remember new memories, and not just old. Sometimes that happens with cases like this. But for right now, she is awake and she looks pretty content."

Bella listened carefully to what the beautiful man beside her was saying. She kept glancing at Charlie though to see his expression. They probably looked the same – knitted eyebrows, small frown, and the look of anxiety in their eyes. Charlie glanced over, still moving his hand to pet her on the head. The smile he gave her was comforting, to say the least, and she could tell (in his own way), he was trying. At least he wasn't overwhelming her with kisses and hugs like she was sure most parents would do.

Like her mother.

Dr. Cullen left to get more paperwork on her condition and Charlie took that chance to turn all his attention on her, dropping his hand from her head and letting it rest on the bars attached to her bed. Bella was sure they were there to keep her from rolling off, but it just made the bed feel even more like a prison. Silently, she stared up at her dad, the feeling of unease still festering deep in her chest. Tests, scans, therapy. It all sounded so scary and Charlie seemed to read that in her expression.

"Don't worry, kid. I'm sure everything will be fine."

 _Yeah, sure._

"I'm just glad you're awake."

 _Me too._

"Just..." Again, he hesitated, "Don't stress out about anything. Focus on getting better, Bella."

 _Yessir._

"And your mother should be here in the next hour or so."

 _Great._

 **.**

 **.**

It took Bella a full week to eat something. They finally decided to stop feeding her through IVs and gave her an actual meal. It took her a few tries to really get the food to her mouth, even clench her hands correctly around the fork. It was so thin, had it always been this thin? Had moving always been this difficult? She didn't think so, but she also didn't remember. It probably took her around thirty minutes to eat everything on the plate – chewing was such a hassle – and it had only been a cup of pudding, a biscuit, and small steak. Bella pretty much forced herself to eat everything, she'd found herself full after the pudding cup.

Her nurses had been impressed. They were pretty nice to her, but she was pretty sure it was because Dr. Cullen told them to be and she was the Chief of Police's daughter. Not that she was going to complain. It was just a surprise since every time she went to the hospital before, the nurses acted like they hated their jobs and her. But these nurses helped her sit up, made sure to help her bathe, and helped adjust or move her IVs. Bella knew one or two by names by then end of the second week and they always offered nice smiles when she woke up in the morning to their faces.

Charlie came to visit every day after work. No matter how late he got off and how little of time he had of visiting hours. He always offered his support and comforting words, still doing that stroking thing with her hair to keep it out of her face. Renee was there too – apparently she had moved back to Forks temporarily since Phil was always on the road now. She had been the one to smother Bella with kisses and hugs and then ranting and raving over the weather. Rain, rain, and more rain.

Honestly, it annoyed Bella. What she wouldn't give to see the rain, feel it on her skin. Even though she had never liked it, she still wanted to see it as soon as possible. In fact, it would be a welcome. After all that time in her head, Bella realized how nice it was thinking about Forks. It had been simpler times, before the divorce and when mud pies were always in her hands and Charlie was smiling more. But it looked like, at the moment, she wouldn't be going anywhere near outside and rain for awhile now. Dr. Cullen had mentioned something about her immune system being extremely weak.

When word got out of Bella's development, she was quite startled to see just how many people had been waiting for her to wake up. There were letters from the school – the faculty, teachers, and even the principle – from the police station, a letter even from Jessica Stanley who Bella was sure went off to college somewhere. She was pretty sure all her brief friends from High School graduated and followed their dreams. She was happy for them, if anything.

Angela came to visit soon after Bella's therapy began. She had just gotten back to her hospital room, exhausted and slumped in her wheelchair when she spotted Angela sitting in the chair beside her bed. Surprise flitted across Bella's face before she offered a smile. Her voice was still raspy and obviously unused, but she opened her mouth anyway to greet her old friend, "Angela, hey..."

"Bella!" Immediately, the girl stood up. She looked older (of course she would), her hair was held back from her face in a high ponytail, and she was dressed in a dark blue blouse and long pencil skirt. She was still wearing her glasses, though these had a thinner frame. It was nice to see things had changed, her in particular. Angela had this certain air about her now, she seemed more mature. It was easy detect, even just staying in a room with her for a few seconds in Bella's case. "Hi, how're you?"

Bella blinked, breaking from her thoughts. She was so used to being submerged in them that she sometimes fell in and out. "Oh, I'm fine. You didn't have to come, Angela."

Angela waved a hand in response, "Of course I did." There was a pause, "You look great, by the way."

Bella almost snorted. From the minimal glances in the mirror, she had seen what she had become over the course of five years. Her face was thinner, it had lost all the baby fat. Mostly from her lack of real food and nutrients. Her face wasn't as bad as she thought though – she didn't have any large, dramatic scars on her face. And from the years she had been asleep, her mother had been using special lotions on her skin that helped with the scars that were dotting her body. Such as the deep one on the back of her right arm from the accident, it was almost nonexistent now, and the scar under her breast (from a large shard of glass) she could barely see it now. Not that she was ever bothered by scars, but it was good to know she wouldn't have to remember the terrible occurrence that landed her in the hospital. Her hair was shorter than before too, a bit tattered at the ends as well. Split ends and since it hadn't been trimmed in awhile, it didn't look the best. There weren't much curves to her, she was a stick. Her breasts had grew a cup maybe, but there wasn't much to her because of the years that passed by. Maybe, when she got out of here, she would look and feel better.

"Thanks," Bella finally replied with the same small smile. "And thank you for coming."

"It's no problem," her friends said, taking a seat once again. "Do you need...?" _Ah_ , Bella fought back a sarcastic smile. The wheelchair was easy to maneuver in, and if she wanted, she could lift herself into bed. Instead, she relaxed, sitting back and flipping the lever on the side up to lock the wheels.

"No, no. I'm fine. I kinda hate lying around now."

Angela smiled right back at her, as if she understood. "Right. Of course." They chatted for awhile until Bella finally breached the subject of the others. Angela shrugged, "Mike and Jessica dated for awhile, went to the Spring Formal together and then Prom. From what I can tell, they're on and off. Mike still comes back on some weekends to visit his parents' store. Tyler went California, the last I heard from him. For an acting gig or something." And then she had the nerve to look shy, "Ben and I are still dating. Well, really we're engaged, but we haven't actually told anyone..."

Bella's smile widened, eyes popping wider than usual, "Holy crap. Really? That's great, Angela." She didn't remember Ben very much, but if Angela liked him, then he must've been a good guy.

Angela still looked a bit nervous, but it didn't take her long to speak up again, "I'm really happy to be able to talk to you again, Bella. Everyone thought..." Her expression fell just a smudge before it lit up again, "Either way, as soon as you get out of here, we _have_ to go somewhere. Movies, shopping, wherever you want."

"Don't worry," Bella lazily waved a hand, "My mother's got the shopping part covered. It's not something I'm looking forward to." Angela got to talking again and Bella found herself dazing in and out of the conversation. She didn't find it to be necessarily a bad thing, but Angela sometimes had to touch her hand or wrist to get her attention. "Sorry," She apologized for the fourth time, "I just get lost in thought sometimes."

That gentle smile was still on Angela's face, "It's alright."

Bella was quiet for a beat or two. It was nice – to talk to someone, to be _normal_. Change was always good, this way.

And, _holy hell_ , she couldn't wait to get out of this hospital.

 **.**

 **.**

It took Paul Lahote a few seconds to focus. The normal, raggedy ceiling in front of him was a pretty good wake up call. His head was ringing a bit, ears too. He wasn't really sure why until he recalled the night before. Sighing, he sat up in bed, muscles and bones stretching out to release annoying creaking from his shoulders and back. Last night was slowly starting to flow into his mind, and he glanced over towards the empty space beside him. No one was in his bed, but he was pretty sure he took one home from the bonfire the night before. Paul swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching up to scratch at his head and heading towards the bathroom.

It took less than three minutes for him to splash some water on his face, scrub his teeth, and put on some boxers. He was also pretty grossed out to see he had fallen asleep with a used condom on his dick – it stuck to him uncomfortably and he made a face as he tried to wipe himself clean with a spare wash cloth. He would be sure to throw it in the wash before using it on his face or anything. He left the bathroom soon after, making his way to the kitchen and living room area. His home wasn't exactly that big, but it was enough for one or two people, those people being just him.

Well, at least, not at the moment. He resisted the urge to curse when he saw the girl from last night humming to herself in the kitchen. He never did like when the girls stuck around like his house was a hotel. Some got the idea and left in the morning – sometimes didn't even wait for the sun to come up. While others just wanted to dilly-dally and join him the whole day. He made sure not to make noise as he walked up behind her. She had stolen one of his shirts, and he was pretty sure she wasn't wear any underwear. She was pretty tall for a girl, just barely reached his shoulder and just like most girls on the reservation, she had nice russet, smooth skin. Her hair was cut to her shoulders, a small bob.

Mostly, he could remember looks. He liked to look at who he was eating out or fucking from behind, of course. But he had forgotten her name. Well, this was going to be a hell of a morning. She seemed to hear him get closer – the wood floors underneath his feet had creaked a bit – and she turned with a bright smile in his direction, "Good morning."

Oh, yeesh. Her voice was squeaky as hell.

 _Shit. Yeah, she's gotta go as soon as possible._

He would've kicked her out then and there if the food didn't smell good. And if she didn't open her legs for another round. Of course, Paul couldn't resist either. He liked fucking, it was easy to not think and lose himself in the sensations. It was primal and rough, everything he was when he was a wolf – a protector of his tribe and pack. When they were finished and sated, they ate in silence. Fortunately, she never asked why he ate so much or mentioned anything personal about herself or him. Good, she was getting the idea. They weren't going to talk much after she left anyway. She would be lucky if he remembered what she looked like after this.

She cleaned, which was a good thing since he wasn't going to, and then turned to smile at him. For a second he thought she was going to offer another quick rump before she showered and left, but there was a knock on the door before either of them could make a move. Paul cursed, taking only four wide steps to get to the door and wrench it open.

"What."

Jacob Black raised a thick brow at the look of disdain, "Well, good morning to you, too."

"Yeah, yeah," Paul and Jacob over the years had grown closer bit by bit, thanks to the pack. There were a lot of walls that surrounded Paul, but he had been ambushed from all sides by the others. Sam especially. They barged their way into his life slowly but surely, and they weren't backing off anytime soon. Out of everyone, he had grown closest to Embry, Sam, and Jared. Sometimes, Jacob helped and talked to him every now and then. But he didn't visit like this, and especially not in the morning like this, "The hell you want?"

"Can't I just drop by to say hi? It's a nice day outside."

Paul would've snorted at that, but he was pretty quiet. Jacob was right, it was nice outside. The sun was actually out and there weren't many clouds. The wind wasn't too strong and it was probably around the mid-to-high seventies in degrees. Summer was coming quick and fast. "Say hi my fucking ass. What d'ya want?"

Jacob cracked a small smile finally. He was used to Paul's behavior and crass mouth, after all. "You coming to the beach thing tomorrow?"

Paul resisted the urge to tilt his head like a lost dog. Beach thing? Was there a beach thing tomorrow? Probably just another bonfire. And since the weather looked pretty nice, locals would probably be on the beach as well. "Probably. Even though no one told me about the damn thing."

"You just don't pay attention."

"Uh-huh. When does it start?"

"Around four."

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

Just as Jacob was about to open his big fat mouth again, the girl that Paul had been fucking on his counter just close to an hour ago, ducked under Paul's arm and out the door. She hesitated beside him for a second or two, giving him a knowing, crooked smile before lifting herself onto her toes. The girl planted a quick kiss on his cheek and then left without another word. Jacob wrinkled his nose at the smell of her – she basically _reeked_ of sweat, sex, and Paul. He returned his attention back to the other man in front of him.

"And what's her name?"

Paul shrugged a shoulder, "Hell if I know."

After giving him a look of disapproval, Jacob continued, "Anyway, it starts at four. And if you do come, try to be on your best behavior, okay?"

"Why?" Now, Paul was curious, "The pope comin' into town?"

" _No_ , but someone important _is_ going to be there."

Paul's eyebrow was just crawling higher on his forehead. This was new. "Who?"

"Bella. Bella Swan."

Oh. Chief Swan's daughter. Paul had never had the chance to meet her in person, but he got enough from Jacob. From the way they linked minds when they phased and Jacob's constant thoughts of her for a good few months, Paul had gotten more than enough information. She had gotten into a bad accident, jammed between two cars. She would've been dead if it wasn't for how fast the EMTs got there and managed to get her to the hospital in time. How long ago had that been? Four or maybe five years? He wasn't really sure and he hadn't been really paying attention to it. The only reason he cared even a smudge was because of Jacob. In the pack, they were all like brothers. And if one was hurting, so were the rest. He caught small memories of her image from Jacob – asleep, pale and thin in a hospital bed; dark brown hair sprawled everywhere. She looked sickly and Paul had been surprised she wasn't dead yet. He'd heard, of course, that she'd woken up. It was the buzz of the town, and the last memory he had seen of her from Jacob was better than the last.

He had been watching her somewhere. At Chief Swan's house probably. He had been watching the way she subtly swung her hips when she walked. The feminine curve of her waist up her breasts. She had gained some of her weight back, Paul could see that. And from the memory, he could tell that her hair looked better, shinier and fuller. He hadn't gotten a look at her face though, since the memory had been fleeting and dulled. It had just been going through Jacob's mind for a moment, but Paul had been able to catch it.

"Paul?" Jacob's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Are you listening to me?"

"Mm." Paul was pretty sure his expression didn't look that committed.

"I'm serious, Paul. _Best behavior_."

"Jesus Christ, Jacob," Paul groused, "I ain't gonna jump the girl. I don't care if she's there or not."

"Still," the other looked stern, "She just got out of the hospital a couple months ago. I'm making sure no one overwhelms her."

"Yeah, yeah." Paul waved a hand dismissively. He was really close to closing the door in this brat's face. But, deep in his subconscious, it wasn't like Paul really blamed Jacob. He was known on the reservation for being a bit promiscuous. Seeing a girl walk out of his house smelling of sweat and himself wasn't really a new thing. And there was never the same girl, always a new one. What could he say? The chase, the new feel, it riled him up. It wasn't his fault the girls on the reservation had good genes. _Best behavior,_ he thought sardonically, _yeah right_.

He wasn't interested anyway.

 **.**

 **.**

 **Hi, guys. Thanks for the reviews from last time. It really means a lot when you guys take the time to tell me what you think. Criticism is always good and it's always nice to hear other opinions and how you think the story could progress. If maybe we could get the reviews up to the twenties or more, that would be great. I'm glad you guys are favoriting and following the story, it's bringing back my muse to write. Also, please excuse any typos or anything. I'll be sure at one point to go back through and edit the chapters later.**

 **Like I said, I would introduce Paul to this story and I hope he came out okay. I've never written for him. When it switched over to Paul's point of view, there was a small time skip for Bella. Maybe three-five months since she's gotten out of the hospital and she's starting to get used to life and easing more into everything. I'm still figuring out just how much I want vampires in this story, I want it to mainly being around Bella finding herself, Paul, and the werewolves. But if I come up with anything, I'll be sure to include it into the story. I also wanted to skip over Bella's entire therapy and recovery and things like that, I didn't want to bore you guys or anything.**

 **Please, please leave a review. They make me smile and they help so much with how fast I get chapters out. Thanks guys.**

 **-Sonny**


	3. Chapter 3

**.**

 **.**

Bella frowned to herself as she twisted this way and that in the mirror. It had been a good few months since she'd left the hospital and you could more or less say that she was adjusting nicely to finally being free to do what she wished. Because of the extensive physical therapy and the large but healthy diet, she had gained most of her weight and muscles back. Now, she was in better shape than she thought was possible for someone as mousy and thin as herself. The dip in her waist was definitely nice to look at, and believe it or not, her breasts had grown a cup when she finally went bra shopping. Same for her pants size - hips wider and legs longer. Every morning, she was sure to take a twenty minute jog and the doctors at the hospital had even suggested yoga or some type of therapeutic stretching. Her hair had grown too over the months, and when she left the hospital she was sure to get it cut to get rid of all the dead strands.

When the color and life finally returned to her face, Renee had decided her parenting was finished for now and went back on tour with Phil. Bella didn't blame her - she knew of her mother's distaste for Forks, the dreary weather and not to mention, the obvious tension between her and Charlie. Speaking of Charlie, he had been much more supportive than Bella thought. The first couple weeks after she'd gotten out of the hospital, he had helped her out of bed every morning and cooked her a large breakfast. From what she could tell, he had gotten a little better at cooking, probably just for her to relax when she came home. He also helped with her getting the paperwork for her high school diploma. Because of her condition, she had been excused from the GED and the state even offered to give her a high school diploma if she finished a little schoolwork for her last year before moving onto the test that would determine if she remembered most things. Fortunately for her, the crash hadn't affected her brain much - sure, there were sometimes she forgot certain things but they always came back to her sooner or later.

Lost in thought, Bella soon got dressed. The sun was out today, but that didn't mean she could wear a pair of shorts. It could start raining whenever it pleased, after all. Sighing, she tugged up her jeans, tight around her legs and shrugged on her short sleeve shirt as well. Just like the jeans, it was tight as well. The waitressing job she had usually advised you wore shorts, but she wasn't in the mood to be groped today. When she grabbed her dark jacket off the bed and ventured downstairs, Charlie was already gone. Presumably at work - he'd gotten slowly used to the idea of allowing Bella to get up on her own in the mornings. She didn't want to put anymore burden on him, in the end.

The sun was beaming down on her when she finally managed to leave the house, hair in a high ponytail, Poptart in her mouth, and zipping up her jacket. Over the years, the bus around Forks had grown more useful - it now made stops a few blocks from her house and Bella had no problem boarding it since she knew the schedule. Her red truck, of course, hadn't made it through the wreckage. Well, it more or less died when Bella was trapped in the hospital, so it was just taking up space in Charlie's garage. Her father had asked if she wanted him to purchase her another car, but Bella politely declined. With this job, she would make sure to buy one on her own.

It didn't take long for the bus to pull up towards the Fairmont Pub&Diner. Bella pulled down on the line, waving goodbye to old Ms. Leslie - who rode the bus almost every day just to get out of the house - and got off. Pushing the door out of her way, she unzipped her jacket, glancing over towards the four tables filled with customers. It was pretty slow for noon, but it would be bustling soon enough since the lunch rush coming. Bella headed towards the back, hanging up her things and retying up her ponytail to make sure it was tight.

"Hey, Bells."

Said girl looked over towards the employee entrance way to see Erica. One of her co-workers, around Bella's age. She had long blonde hair that she usually left down since the construction workers that came in typically liked it that way. She had a studded nose piercing that she refused to take out, especially during work hours and light pink lipstick on today. Unlike Bella, she took the time out of her day just to make sure her hair was straight, makeup was done to perfection, and her legs were out - no matter the weather.

"Oh, hey," Bella offered a warm smile, hands falling to her sides. "How was last night?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, reaching up to fluff up her hair, "It was a big fucking fail. Evan obviously doesn't know what a clit is." From behind Erica, Beatrice made herself known by bursting into laughter as she entered the back room. Beatrice was a bit older - around her mid-forties with a bad red dye job and thick makeup as well. Even so, she was loud and always keeping things fresh and new with her stories and sense of humor. She was nice to have around.

Nudging Erica a bit, Beatrice snorted under her breath, "Somethin' is the matter with you. Evan is cute."

Erica just looked annoyed, "Just 'cause a guy is cute, it doesn't mean he knows how to use his dick."

"Oooh! What're we talking about in here?" With a small stack of dirty dishes, Valerie stood in the doorway, eyes bright and excited. She was darker-skinned than the rest of them - you were so used to seeing pale faces, Valerie only stood out even more so. Her hair was dreaded into braids, piled high on her head in a bun. Just like Erica, she was wearing a pair of shorts. Obviously, this had worked out in her favor since Bella could spot a twenty sticking out from one of her pockets.

Beatrice spoke up before anyone else could, "Dick."

Valerie only lit up in reply, "Mm. Sounds interesting."

"Oh, shut up. Both of you." Erica walked right past Valerie to get back to her table, hips swishing back and forth on the way out. Valerie merely followed her out.

Beatrice, however, stayed behind, glancing over at Bella. "So, sweetheart, how's the yoga going?"

Bella wrinkled her nose a bit, smoothing down her shirt, "It's going alright, I guess. I think I'm going to drop out of it soon, though. Jogging is just fine for me." As she spoke, she and Beatrice both followed the other two waitresses out, Bella picking up her notepad and pen on the way. "Plus, it gets cold when it's later so it's probably best to quit soon anyway."

Beatrice was just about to open her mouth to reply, she was cut off. "Bella, when did you get here?" Bella looked up at the voice, only to see Micah peering at her over the bar, wiping down a glass. Once again, that smile made its way on Bella's face as she made her way over to him, hands in her pockets. "I didn't see you come in."

"I just got here. My shift starts at twelve."

Micah raised a brow, "Lenny bumped up your time?"

"Yeah, since Penny quit."

Beatrice took this chance to grab her order off the counter, since it had been sitting under the heating lamp for about four minutes. "Penny quit?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear?" Micah looked amused. He had a right to be, usually everyone in this town knew everything about everyone. It didn't take long for word to travel around either way, especially when no one had anything better to do. "Her boyfriend just got out on bail."

The stouty redhead beside Bella made a face, red-colored lips turning down, "She went back to that asshole?" A kid from one of the tables glanced over at them from the language and the mom beside him glared towards the three. Beatrice paid her no mind, though. "Wasn't he the one beatin' on her?"

Micah frowned in reply and Beatrice merely huffed, walking off to take her food to its table. Bella watched her go, glancing over at the clock on the wall. She had another ten minutes before she had to clock in. Micah cleared his throat behind her, placing down the beer in front of his first customer of the day - Harold, the friendly neighborhood drunk that cozied up onto a bar stool every day. "So you gonna start working on Saturdays now?" Micah was handsome - he allowed his hair to grow out so that it was now just resting above his shoulders in those thick curls he got from one of his parents. Today, he had it tied back into a bun. He'd also hadn't shaved in the last few days, and it was pretty obvious with the stubble growing on his jaw and face.

Bella shrugged, eyes on the window. Clouds were beginning to roll in, just like she thought they would. It would probably rain soon and Erica would have to wipe down the windows again. "I guess. Unless Penny decides to come back. Lenny, I'm sure, would give her the job back."

Micah stared at her for a beat or two, watching how the shitty lighting in the diner lit up the different colors in her hair. It was messily and loosely curled, the ponytail swaying a bit from her little movement. "I like you better on Saturdays. You don't bring unnecessary drama." Bella's brown eyes flickered over towards him, a small smile on her face.

"Penny didn't bring dr - "

"Hey, B." Erica had made her way over to grab another plate of food for her table. "Your favorite customer is here." Almost immediately, Bella's face fell - annoyance setting her mouth into a thin line. She had hoped since it was sunny today, they wouldn't come. They tended to stay away from days like that, she'd noticed awhile ago. Hiking or whatever, it didn't matter. As long as they stayed away. But, alas, Bella was forced to clock in, holding her notepad tight as she made her way over to the table in the far corner.

"Alice."

"Bella." The girl removed her sunglasses, legs crossed under the table. Her dark gold eyes were revealed, surrounded by thick, black eyelashes. Her beauty, much like the rest of her family's, was stunning. She was dressed to impress today, just like any other day, in fact. Of course, others in the diner tried to crane their heads just to get a glimpse of Alice Cullen. Ever since Bella had began working here, Alice had stopped by every week during one of her shifts. It was odd - Valerie said she didn't see Alice come by during any other days, only when Bella was here.

And she would always do the same thing. But, Bella offered a friendly smile - the smile she reserved only for customers and held her notepad up, ready for the order, "What can I get you?"

A small smile was playing at the edges of Alice's lips. "The usual."

"Right. Coffee. No cream and no sugar, right?"

"Right."

Bella pretended to write it down, turning and walking away. It wouldn't take long to get that order, but she took her time, as always. It was always unnerving to feel Alice's golden eyes digging into her back. Micah was eyeing Bella as she poured the coffee into a cup. "Cullen again?"

Bella gave a small nod, "Mm. She always comes when I'm here."

"She's a stalker or somethin'?"

It took the brunette a few seconds to reply, "...No. I don't know. Her entire family is weird." Memories might've been something she isn't good with, but Bella was no fool. They did have odd behavior - even Dr. Cullen. The iciness of their touch, the eyes, the weird disappearances when it got even a little pinch of sun outside. Even though Bella had sworn she'd heard Edward's voice in the hospital once, she hadn't seen him since the day of the accident. The town didn't even talk about beautiful Edward Cullen anymore - perhaps he was really gone. Breaking herself from her thoughts, Bella picked up the cup of coffee and made her way back over to Alice's table, sitting it down with another smile.

"There you go."

"Thank you," A pause, "Oh, and Bella?"

Bella had just been about to turn around and walk away, "Yeah?"

"What time do you get off?"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed, "Um - six. Why?"

A knowing look was on Alice's face, "No reason in particular. I just wouldn't want a beautiful girl like you leaving too late, right?" She took a spoon to stir the coffee, even though nothing was in there to mix.

The waitress stared at her for a few seconds, expression still perplexed. From the way Alice said it, it sounded rather patronizing. And Bella wasn't in the mood for compliments anyway. "Alice, did Edward go off to college?"

Alice blinked at the question, looking surprised. "Edward? Oh, yes. He went to Dartmouth." Dartmouth. Now that was an impressive college. She was quiet for a little while longer, waiting for the smaller girl to finish. "I don't think he liked it very much, but we don't talk much since he's so busy. Can I ask why you're asking about my brother?"

Bella tried to keep her answer as nonchalant as possible, "It's just...we were _friends_." Not even close - she had maybe one or two civilized conversations with him.

Alice smiled again, and this time her teeth were just a bit visible. It made Bella stare. "Friends? That's good." She blew out a small breath of laughter, "Edward isn't that good at making friends so this is a surprise. The next time he calls, I'll be sure to mention you." With that, Bella turned and walked away, making sure to ignore the stares she got from the other customers in the diner. She served a few more tables, making sure to keep her attitude upbeat and casual. When she rounded back towards Alice's table, she found the hundred dollar bill sitting there waiting for her, right next to the untouched coffee.

Just like last time.

 **.**

 **.**

Paul snapped off the top of the beer, watching as it bounced off the counter and onto the floor. Raising the beer to his lips, he took down a few gulps. It was finished before Embry could even make his way over and begin complaining about all the bottle caps everywhere. "Hey! Paul! Don't get drunk already, the party hasn't even started yet."

Paul rolled his eyes, setting down the empty glass, "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious. Every time you get drunk, you go right home."

"With a girl," Jared added in as he stepped inside, carrying a cooler underneath his arm. Sam was right behind him - Emily trailing after him like a lost puppy like usual. She was already in her sundress, bathing suit underneath. That way, her scars stood out even more. Not that Sam ever minded, turning around and kissing her soundly on the lips. Paul resisted the urge to pretend to choke on his beer, just to make an overexaggerated objection to the love-show in front of him.

"Alright, alright," Paul grumbled, throwing the bottle into the trashcan. When he got outside to the cars, Jacob was there, checking under the hood of Embry's Jeep. He slammed it shut once Paul stepped up next to him, "Who did you invite to this shit anyway?"

Jacob wiped his hands on his swim trunks, "I only invited Bella. But I think she's bringing some of her co-workers and friends. Only a couple though." Paul surely hoped so, he didn't want to snap at any of these broads for saying something stupid to him. Jacob pointed a finger at him - Paul glared at it, he would bite it off if he could. "Remember. Best behavior, Lahote."

Instead, he smacked his hand out of his face, irritated already. Out of all the werewolves in the pack, Paul was the quickest to anger. "What's with all of you naggin' me today? Jesus fucking Christ..." he groused, opening the door to get into Embry's car. The rest of them filed out, Embry jumping in after putting the rest of the snacks in the back. Paul glanced over at him, "You call Leah yet? She should come visit already."

Embry shrugged his shoulders, putting the Jeep into reverse, careful of not hitting anything. "Not happening any time soon. She didn't sound that interested." He pointedly glanced towards the rearview mirror to look at the car trailing after them, both Emily and Sam inside speaking animatedly. Paul scoffed - it's not like he could really blame her. He could barely stand to see Sam being all lovey-dovey all the damn time. It was just the same with Jared and Kim, though. He could barely keep his hands to himself when he was with her, and Paul was pretty sure she was going to be at the beach. Now, he was going to be surrounded by this shit.

He knew he should've slept in.

When they arrived at the beach, Paul was the one to carry most of the shit. He set it up, mostly because he didn't want to be bothered. While everyone else was running around on the beach holding hands, Paul was checking which cooler had another beer. It was pretty warm today - a nice day and the sun was beaming down, making the sand hot between his toes. When he heard more noise, he glanced over to see another group of people making their way over. They were just getting out of an old dark pickup truck. One was a dark-skinned girl, already in her purple bikini. Another was blonde, in a pair of shorts and her tits nearly spilling out of her top.

A couple others got out - two guys, and one other girl that Paul wasn't that interested in. The blonde was the one who caught his eye first, she looked like she was bored and ready for some action and so was Paul. He hadn't even paid any attention to the brunette that enthusiastically greeted Jacob. When Paul's gaze flickered over to the two, he was unable to see her face. Just her brown hair moving with the wind and a dainty hand reached up to try and push it out of her face. Jacob was smiling at her like a rainbow was shoved up his ass. Paul stayed where he was, though, trailing eyes down the brunette. She had such a nice shape - unlike the other girls, she was wearing a regular two piece black bathing suit. It wasn't too revealing but it did show off her legs and womanly figure. The slight dip between her breasts and hips, the long legs, the little dashes of blonde, auburn, and brown in her hair when it hit the sun just right.

Jacob was gesturing a lot with his hands, and even though Paul had pretty good hearing, he really didn't care what he was saying enough to listen. The girl laughed and Jacob grinned in response, pointing over towards where Paul was standing. He was probably trying to point over to Sam and Emily - who were a few yards behind Paul but in the same general direction. Either way, the brunette turned her head and those brown eyes were on Paul.

 _Shit_.

Paul almost dropped his beer at the pure feeling of light spreading through his body as their gazes locked. Her face was familiar - Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter who almost died in that crash. She was still trying to push her hair away from her face from the strong breeze, the hair whipping around everywhere. Paul couldn't get his brain to work for a few seconds, his mouth had fallen open like he was a fucking idiot. Was this what it felt like? Light and the feel of home and all those shitty moments in his life seemed to evaporate. He was staring - fuck, yes, he was staring. Because, whether he liked it or not, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Imprinting sure was a bitch, wasn't it?

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 **Sorry for taking so long guys, all these holidays really did get to me. Thank you for all the likes and support and favorites. It really helps me keep going with this story, I mean that. If we could get the reviews up to 30, that would be great. All your opinions, your words, they help me a lot. They're really the only reason I come back and finish this. Please remember, this story isn't about vampires - mostly the werewolves and Bella finding herself. I'm still debating if I even want to put more Cullen's in this story. Including Edward.**

 **Thanks for reading and please remember to review! I hope everyone had a nice break, holidays, and happy New Year! Again, I didn't go through this chapter for typos and such, but I will be sure to do it another time.**

 **-Sonny**


	4. Chapter 4

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Bella was the first to get out of Valerie's old pickup truck. It reminded Bella so much of her old truck, it made her feel oddly homesick. Mostly because she was remembering how easy it was before - when she first arrived in Forks. It felt like an eternity ago. She was quick to peel off her shorts and tank top as soon as she saw the waves hitting the sand, though they were small waves and the water looked freezing cold, it didn't mean Bella couldn't have any fun. Valerie was already making her way across the sand, laying out a few towels and throwing down her things.

Erica had came as well, glasses perched on her nose until she decided to push them up to rest upon her head, pushing back her hair. She was effortless with her beauty - breasts pushed up with her top, shorts showing off legs that seemed to go on for miles, and perfectly tanned skin (which was something she only obtained from her small vacation in California a couple weeks ago). Feeling self-conscious, though, wasn't on Bella's list. Erica's musclehead boyfriend had come, one of Valerie's friends, and Bella had taken it upon herself to invite Angela, who'd brought her own friend from college. All in all, Bella was happy to be out and about for once - she had been so swamped with therapy, her recovery, her parents, paperwork, and her job that she'd forgotten what it felt like to have fun for once.

When she spotted Jacob, a large smile made its way on her face. As soon as she'd gotten out of the hospital and brought home, Jacob had been sitting on the old couch in Charlie's living room. Bella hadn't expected him to be so big, hair cut down as well. But his smile was just how she'd always imagined it to be. It made her feel warm inside, like everything was going to be alright. It didn't take long for them to click - this time Bella could actually say something back to him. She did bring up how she heard his voice in her long sleep, and he'd seemed surprise, hesitant for a second. Bella was sure to gloss over when he'd left, saying such strange things. It wasn't much of her business and she didn't want to make anything awkward between them.

"Jacob!" The brunette called exuberantly, making her way over to him. When he caught sight of her, the russet-skinned male jogged over to meet her halfway, that familiar grin already on his face - bright white teeth visible even from how far away he was. From behind him, Bella saw a few others setting up towels, food, and other things they would probably need. From what she could tell, most of the men there were big.

Like - _really_ big.

Jacob was already pretty tall and packed solid with muscles, but the others were just like him. Tall, burly, russet-skinned. Hair cut short and limbs long and filled with strength. Enough to knock her down with ease. It was hard not to be intimidated, but Bella's eyes flickered back to Jacob, deciding to focus on him instead. "I'm starting to wonder what's in the water here..."

Jacob let out a loud laugh, raising his thick eyebrows at her, "I'll take that as a compliment." He raised a hand, pointing a finger in the direction of the others, "That's Emily and Sam. Lovebirds, really. Oh, and that's Embry, Seth, Jared..." Jacob immediately trailed off, however, dark eyes narrowing and flickering over to someone behind Bella. She blinked, confused at the change of expression on his face - it had hardened, lips set in a firm line. For a moment, he glanced back at Bella, "Wait here."

She watched as he walked right past her, steps long and purposeful. The russet-skinned male that had been heading over in their direction was stopped by Jacob's hand on his shoulder, to Bella's surprise. The contact was rough, the smack of skin on skin and the obvious tension in Jacob's exposed arms as he used his strength to hold the other way. Bella had no idea what was going on, but it seemed the others did. It caught the other males' attention, each inky black head craning over to see what the fuss was about. Without warning, Jake shoved the other back, causing him to stumble a few steps backwards.

"Seriously, Paul!"

Paul - as Jacob had called him - glowered at the other. There was something dark in his eyes, hands clenched tight by his sides and the muscles in his arms tightening with each breath that passed through him. He was even trembling, growling words right back at her friend. "Move out of the fucking way!"

Embry - Bella was pretty sure it was him, she hadn't gotten a good look when Jacob pointed him out - had the nerve to laugh. An incredulous laugh, at that. "No way! Holy shit, Paul." He casted Bella an amused glance. At this point, Sam was making his way over, also grabbing a hold of Paul's opposite arm and dragging him in a random direction, away from the group. Bella was growing more and more confused as Jacob came back to her, steering her away from the crowd forming, mixed in with her coworkers and other residents of La Push.

"...What was that about?" Bella murmured, risking a glance over her shoulder to see where Sam was taking the Paul fellow. At that exact second, even from yards away, Paul raised his head and looked directly at her, gaze narrowed and locking with hers. Bella jerked a bit at the sudden jump of her heart in her chest. Quickly, she looked away, back to Jacob - who was watching her closely. "Jake?"

"Nothing," he responded, too fast for her to believe him. He glanced to the waves hitting the shore, "Stay here. I'll be right back." With that, he released her and jogged over to the trees Paul and Sam had disappeared into a few good yards away, right where the beach ended. Bella blinked, surprised as Erica and Valerie stopped beside her, expressions also confused.

"What happened to the hot guys?" Erica complained, arms crossing over her chest.

Before Bella could reply, Valerie spoke up, "Maybe you scared 'em off with your tits. They're hanging out of your damn top."

"Screw you."

"Haven't you ever heard of leaving something to the imagination?"

Erica merely flipped her blonde hair, almost smacking the other woman in the face with it. "I'm the girl of every guy's dreams in Forks. I'm in every guy's imagination." Valerie rolled her eyes, giving Bella an annoyed look. Though, the brunette wasn't paying much attention to either of them, rather her focus was on the break of trees up ahead. She could only wonder why the boys had gone off in that direction, and why exactly she felt the need to follow. Particularly after Paul - he looked like he was in distress.

Angry, confused. It made her worried.

Though, the other two boys left and the one girl came closer to the three women talking. Bella glanced over and almost did a double-take. The girl, yes, was very beautiful - but the long, ragged scars along her face and neck were hard to ignore. She could already see Erica out of the corner of her eye drop her mouth open in surprise. At least Valerie had the good sense to keep it cool, her expression giving nothing away.

"Sorry about that," the girl's voice was soft. "The boys sometimes get rough."

Embry snorted, though he was giving Erica a clear warning - _keep your mouth shut_. "Jacob and Paul are always going at it."

Deciding it was rude to dwell on the girl's appearance, Bella went along with the conversation, "Are they okay? I mean - what's his name, Paul? He didn't look too happy..." That was an understatement.

A different girl approached, immediately gluing to Jared's side. Almost like it was by instinct, like it was completely effortless, he swung his long arm over her and pulled her close, towards his chest. While he did so, he said, "Yeah, Paul's fine. Just...he's got bad anger management problems." In reply, Embry laughed a bit, causing Emily to wrinkle up her nose at them, obviously not happy with their teasing. Then she turned to Bella.

"They'll be back soon, I'm sure," she said, "Why don't we get in the water? It shouldn't be too cold."

"Finally," Erica groaned, as if she were _so_ bored. All of the girls rushed towards the water, squealing and doing little hops when it touched their feet. Bella, however, stayed behind. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she glanced back towards the woods, a worried crease furrowing her eyebrows.

Just what the hell was going on?

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" _Goddammit_ , Paul!" Said man felt the forest floor rush up to meet him. His back slammed against it, breath knocked out of him for a total of two seconds before he erupted into a large mass of gray fur, muscles, and teeth. Jacob was sure to take a quick, large step backwards so that he wouldn't be hurt. Sam was quick to do the same, though he phased almost immediately after Paul, teeth bared and and a low, warning growl in his throat. Still the Alpha, he glowered at Paul.

 _"Calm down. Now!"_ There was clear authority in his tone, the voice rumbling inside of his head.

 _"Fuck you, Sam!"_ He was snarling right back, and the two large shapeshifters began to circle around each other, teeth snapping and claws digging into the earth underneath them. Paul was so focused on what part to sink his teeth in on Sam - he wanted to take a good chunk out of him - he failed to notice that Jacob had also phased, now flanking Sam. Of course the little suck up would be on Sam's side. But they had every right to be careful around Paul - if it hadn't been for their quick thinking, Paul would've probably phased right there in front of everyone just for getting close to Bella.

 _Bella. Bella. Isabella._

Her brown eyes had landed on him and he was completely gone. All rational thought, all the women he'd slept with, all that had gone completely down the drain. Now, no one was as beautiful as her. No one had a figure like hers, hair like hers, skin like hers, eyes like hers. Even her mouth. Hell, from just a few seconds, he'd managed to get a good look at it. She was his _imprint_ , the only reason for his existence now. He wanted her more than anything, to see her, to touch her. He wondered what her voice sounded like saying his name.

Jacob's long, startling growl was what broke Paul out of his thoughts. Eyes snapping over to the brown-red wolf, Paul bared his teeth, lunging right towards the other quickly. He wasn't as big as Jacob - the other had at least a good thirty pounds on him when it came to this form, but Paul was quicker and more experienced and he managed to catch Jacob off guard, teeth right on his throat a second later and knocking them both to the ground. Just thinking about how much Jacob had touched Bella, thought about her with his stupid little boy crush was enough to make Paul furious. He never was good when it came to controlling his temper, but this was a new low.

He didn't get to do more than rough Jacob up a bit, since he was attacked from the side by Sam. What a pussy move.

Sam was big though, and he made it well known when he crashed into Paul's side and sent him tumbling to the ground. Fortunately, this made him release Jacob's throat. Snarling and snapping his teeth angrily, Paul said, _"What was that for?!"_

Sam's large head slowly bowed lower, teeth disappearing for a moment, _"You need to calm down. Jacob did good by pulling you away. You shouldn't be attacking your own brother."_

Paul almost wanted to say, he's no brother of mine, but held his tongue. Instead, he slowly stood up straight, watching Jacob out of the corner of his eye.

Jacob was whimpering a bit about his neck, where the bitemarks were slowly beginning to heal, _"Asshole..."_

 _"Learn to fight,"_ Paul snapped back, _"besides throwing your weight around."_

 _"Bottom line is,"_ Sam broke in, his tone just as biting, _"Control yourself. Go for a run. Whatever you want. Just don't come to the beach until you've calmed down."_

Paul didn't say anything, but he retracted his teeth and sat down in a more non-threatening position. Sam was the Alpha, and no one was to go against him. Sam phased out, cursing when he realized he completely tore his swimsuit trunks and opted to take Jacob's, who decided to stay behind with Paul. Said silver wolf threw him a nasty glare as soon as Sam disappeared into the trees.

Jacob rolled his big eyes, _"What?"_

 _"You know what."_

 _"I really don't."_

 _"She's my imprint. Right now, remembering all the times you talked about her, all the times you got all buddy-buddy and close ain't sitting well with me."_ And it really wasn't. Most mature people, such as Sam, could forget past relationships and could look towards the future with their imprint. Paul, however, was a different story. He didn't even want to _think_ of anyone touching Bella, much less his so-called _brother_. Packmate or not, Paul had no problem ripping his throat out for the one who was now the center of his world.

Paul began to walk in the other direction, nose close to the ground. He needed to get his mouth on something to keep him from snapping his teeth at Jacob. Maybe a rabbit or a deer. Though, Jacob just followed him, _"In case you haven't noticed, no one can really go against imprinting. Not like I'm gonna make a move on her now."_ He even sounded annoyed - like his dreams were crushed.

Good.

Jacob continued, tongue lolling out of his mouth as they picked up speed together, _"She's just...She's my friend. I want what's best for her. Bella is always going to be Bella to me. You know? If this imprinting shit thinks you're what's best, then I guess it's a done deal."_ Then he glanced towards Paul, a bit amused, _"Too bad I didn't get to kiss her though."_

Paul knocked down an almost fully grown tree when he lunged at Jacob's throat again.

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**

"You okay?" Bella blinked, glancing up from her plate of food to look at Charlie. His eyebrows were furrowed, pressing together on his forehead. He didn't like it when Bella got lost in her thoughts. She was at a high risk of depression, according to the doctors at the hospital, and it was best to keep her talking about her day or any other thing that interested her. Bella merely gave a tight smile, shrugging her shoulders, mumbling that she was fine. "You sure?"

Her father didn't have a very good vocabulary. Just up to two words each sentence, it seemed. Bella sighed, looking back to her spaghetti. "Yeah, I'm good, Charlie. Don't worry," Just like five years ago, she had yet to perfect the way of saying "dad" naturally. "Just...a long day."

"Oh, yeah?" Charlie seemed curious, shoving another forkful of noodles in his mouth. "What happened?"

Bella hesitated for a second or two, "Do...Do you know anything about the boys? Down in La Push? Other than Jake?" She still hadn't forgotten the way they disappeared into the woods, the way Sam had came back with different swimming trunks on and without Jacob and Paul, no less. Emily and the other boys had tried their best to distract Bella, even when she kept asking. But no clear answers were given. Jacob and Paul going off for a _walk_ didn't seem very convincing. But she soon dropped it. Jacob arrived only a few minutes before she was supposed to leave, the sun was going down and Valerie was complaining about the cold. Jacob had said the same thing the others said - had gone for a walk with Paul to clear his head. Well, if Jacob said it, there wasn't much she could do about it. She trusted him, of course. She didn't bother asking about Paul however, since he'd never shown back up. She didn't want anyone to get annoyed with her constant questions.

Charlie raised his brows this time, "No, not much. Some people in Forks think they're pretty weird. Like Sam. A lot of rumors, but I don't listen to that stuff. Rumors are just rumors, after all." That was another thing she liked about her dad - besides the short and easy conversations - he didn't accept any crap. He knew what to believe and what not to believe. He wasn't easily influenced like the rest of the people in Forks, who really had nothing better to do. "Why?"

Bella shrugged again, "Nothing, just - nothing. Sometimes I wonder if I'm always thinking too hard. It was probably nothing." Charlie still looked confused and a bit wary, but Bella finished forking down one or two more bites before she said she was finished. She kissed her father quickly on the cheek, much to his embarrassment - even though she did it almost every night. Quickly, Bella headed upstairs, showering quickly and changing into her pajamas; a ratty band t-shirt and a pair of silk sleeping shorts she'd gotten from her mother.

She was just about to settle into bed when she heard Charlie calling for her. "Uh - Bells?"

Bella blinked, making her way to the top of the stairs, "Yeah?" Charlie appeared uncomfortable, rubbing a hand over his jaw, "What is it?"

"Someone is here...for you."

This made Bella even more confused, making her way downstairs slowly. Who would come over this late? Her questions were soon answered, however, when she saw who was standing in the door. "Alice?" Of course, like always, Alice was dressed to impress. A stark white jacket that probably cost more than every piece of clothing Bella owned upstairs, high-heeled boots, and a light tan cashmere sweater underneath. "What're you doing here?"

Alice's eyes were darker today, darting to Bella as soon as she made it to the bottom of the steps. Almost immediately, Alice was walking past Charlie - graceful and quick, much more quicker than Bella thought she was capable of - and stopped in front of the other female, "Bella! Oh, Bella...you're alright!" Alice looked so worried and high-strung that the human girl felt compelled to almost hug her, even though they were very far from being best friends.

"Of course I'm alright, Alice. What's up?"

Alice's beautiful pale face was still lined with worry. Suddenly, her nose wrinkled and she stepped away rather quickly. Bella almost frowned - that didn't look like a good reaction. She had just showered, either way, "Where were you today?"

Bella blinked at that, "Uh...down at La Push."

Alice looked like she was close to gagging, "R-Right..." She inhaled deeply, and suddenly, her head snapped around to the door, startling Charlie who was just about to close it. Alice's dark gold eyes narrowed, as if she heard something both Charlie and Bella didn't. Whatever it was, Alice immediately looked away, back to Bella. As if it was the sun breaking through the clouds, Alice smiled, "I just wanted to see you, is all."

"Do you..." Charlie slowly made his way over to the two girls, glancing back and forth between them, "want anything to eat? Hungry?"

"Yes, certainly!" Alice looked excited, clapping her small hands together. She gave Bella a large, gorgeous smile before following Charlie to the kitchen, complimenting the choice of decor. Bella didn't follow, instead frowning to herself. She was almost going to ask just how Alice knew where she lived, but with Charlie being the chief of police in the small town, she couldn't really say she was surprised. Sighing, she walked forward and closed the door for Charlie - since he'd left it cracked, unaware if Alice was leaving or staying before he offered her something to eat.

Bella was unaware of the gray wolf, hidden within the trees, watching her.

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 **I hoped you guys liked this chapter. I said I wasn't going to add a lot of vampires, and I'm probably not, but I couldn't think of a different way to end this chapter rather than Alice worrying over Bella disappearance. Next chapter, there will definitely be some Paul/Bella action/talking. I know everyone is waiting for it, so don't worry. I won't draw anything out for too long. I don't know if anyone's noticed, but I've kinda pushed Sam's pack back. There's no Collin or new generation of shapeshifters - I'll probably add them later to the story. Right now, it's just the main ones such as Paul, Jacob, Embry, Jared, Leah, and Seth.**

 **Even though it's been five years for Bella, Edward and most of the other family members had no reason to stay and left soon after they graduated. Actually, they probably ended up switching schools. Either way, I've pushed back a few things, it's not the same timeline so don't expect the same things to happen. I also want to start adding in Bella's personality more, so she's not as much as a pushover. Stand up for herself, curse, stuff like that. She's more angry than she lets on, after all. But even so, I never want this story to get OOC, I want to keep things true to Bella and how I would see her if this ever happened to her.**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading guys! You're the best, really. I really love reading your reviews and they're the only reason I keep going. It helps, a lot.**

 **-Sonny**


	5. Chapter 5

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Alice stayed over that night. Not that Bella minded much, but it was - well, _weird_. Everything about Alice was a little off. Or at least off for her to be living within the small town of Forks. People here were so _normal_. And the Cullens were far from it. Bella wasn't really sure what the point of the visit was, and it was even stranger that Alice wanted to sleep over - she was sure the beautiful girl's house was three stories or so with a dozen rooms.

Bella set out a pallet on the floor. Old blankets that smelled like they had been in the storage for awhile probably wasn't what Alice was used to, but Bella didn't have a lot of options. Just as she was smoothing out the covers, she heard Alice's light, airy voice behind her, "Oh? Are those for me?"

Bella jumped a bit, turning her head to see the other, "That was quick." Alice had only been in the shower for maybe five or six minutes. Nevertheless, she was dressed in the pajamas Bella had offered. They were a little big for the smaller woman, sleeves a bit too long.

Alice offered a radiant smile, "I take quick showers, I suppose." With incredible grace and fluidity, she sat down on the blankets, hands placed in her lap, "Don't you want to take one?"

Bella eyed her for a second. Her hair was still wet from her shower earlier, "I already took one." Alice pursed her lips. Bella was pretty sure she didn't smell, her hair was washed and she'd brushed her teeth and put on deodorant. She really didn't see the problem. Sighing, she stood from the floor and sat down on her bed. It felt like she was back in high school or something - inviting a girl over to a sleepover.

Well, Alice had pretty much invited herself inside, but that was besides the point. Bella couldn't lie and say she wasn't a bit happy for the company. It was easy to get lonely - Dr. Cullen had told her about her high risk of depression. And also, it would be difficult to get back in the sway of things. She glanced at Alice out of the corner of her eye, surprised when the pale girl was staring back at her. "What?"

"Hm?" Alice blinked, her expression innocent.

"You're staring at me."

"Oh." Alice didn't bother looking away though, "I was just thinking." She paused there before inhaling, "You said you were down at La Push today, right?" When Bella nodded a bit, Alice sighed, picking up one of the covers from the floor to drape it over her legs, "It's just...I don't think it's very safe there."

Bella raised a brow, "It's perfectly fine. The people are nice."

Alice wrinkled her nose at that. "Oh, _please_. Just...be careful, alright? I don't want anything happening to you..." While she said this, her eyes drifted over to the window, lingering there for a few seconds before her attention was back on Bella.

Bella was getting more confused by the second, "Are you worried about the guys there? I mean, they _are_ pretty big."

"Not only that, but they _smell_."

"Do they?" Bella couldn't help but wonder when Alice had gotten a chance to meet any of guys down at La Push, especially getting close enough to sniff them, "Jake smells fine to me."

"They smell _horrid_." She once again seemed close to gagging. Bella thought she was over-exaggerating, but didn't say anything. Finally, Alice blew out a long sigh, brushing her bangs from her face, "You seem to be accident prone." _Yeah, tell me about it._ "I just want you to be as safe as possible."

Bella shifted back so that she was lying down in her bed, "It isn't like Forks is some type of danger zone," Alice gave her a look, but didn't say anything so Bella continued, "...Is that why you've been stopping by the diner?" Maybe she felt some type of obligation, maybe she was worried about Bella's progress or something. It was oddly sweet of her, but also a bit smothering - she'd had enough of that in the hospital.

"Yes - and no. I also wanted to make sure Edward kept his promise."

"Promise?"

"If you don't want me to come by anymore, I won't."

Bella frowned when Alice changed the subject from Edward as quickly as she'd brought him up. Though, Bella wasn't one to pry, "No. Your tips are great."

Alice let out a laugh. It was tinkling and bright and her perfect white teeth were exposed. Bella tensed at the sight. Alice gave her a beaming smile, golden eyes alight, "I'm happy to help." In reply, Bella yawned, pressing further into her cool pillow. Alice smiled, "Well! We should get some rest, no?"

She raised her perfectly manicured hand to flip off Bella's bedside lamp. "Mm. Night, Alice."

"Goodnight, Bella."

 **.**

 **.**

"You look tired."

Bella looked up, tightening her hair into the ponytail. Sighing, she removed her jacket, "Yeah, guess I am."

Beatrice leaned against the wall beside Bella, worry already etched into her face. "Long night?"

" _Really_ long night," Even though Bella had been so tired the night before, she kept jerking awake. Insomnia was also a small thing Carlisle had mentioned as a possibility, but Bella had been sleeping fine ever since she left the hospital. Maybe it was because of Alice - she couldn't think of any other reason. When Bella had glanced over the edge of her bed at the girl, she _looked_ asleep, at least. Perhaps she just wasn't used to having someone in her room with her. And she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched either. It made her a bit anxious. "I had a friend over."

Beatrice's bright red lips tilted up into a coy smile, "Oh? A friend? I hope you didn't take any boys home from that beach party you all went to."

"What? No." Bella finished putting her stuff within her small locker.

"Yeah, Bella's too much of a prude for that," Erica made her way into the employee room, running her hands through her thick blonde hair. As always, her makeup was perfect - bringing out her high cheekbones and eye color. "The guys must've all been taken anyway."

"Just because they weren't interested in you, doesn't mean they're taken," Said Valerie, exiting the employee's bathroom. She stopped beside Beatrice.

"Oh, please," Erica rolled her eyes, leaning in close to the mirror attached to her locker. She was quick to add some mascara, "That one guy - what's his name? Josh? He was all over Bella."

"Jacob, you mean," Bella said, closing Erica's locker, just to mess with her. Erica glared at her - she'd narrowly missed messing up her makeup. "And we're just friends."

"Mhmm," Valerie hummed, amusement clear on her face, "That's what they all say."

"Yeah, but I'm actually telling the truth."

"Yeah, plus, Bella could never land a guy like that. Let's be real here."

Erica gave Bella a sweet smile when Bella glared at her. While she skipped away, Beatrice snorted, "Don't let her get to you. Guys are easy. Take it from me. I've had four husbands, cheated on every single one." She lightly swatted Bella on the behind, laughing as she left the room. Valerie merely rolled her eyes.

The day was mostly uneventful. Lenny, their boss, left early like usual. Micah had a double shift. And Valerie was the first to clock out. As the the sun descended and the clock hit eight, Bella was just clearing off a table when she heard the bell for the door. It opened smoothly and she heard a few sets of footsteps head inside. Bella paid it no mind, deciding to go towards the back and drop off the dishes and trash.

"Bella," Said girl looked up at the call of her name, hands still wet from scrubbing the dishes clean. Erica stood there, annoyed and chewing on her gum loudly, "A table wants you."

Bella blinked, "Me?"

"Did I stutter?" Erica grimaced - she'd probably never had a girl chosen over her.

The brunette's eyebrows furrowed, but she dried her hands off nonetheless. Heading towards the front, she grabbed up her notepad. There weren't usually a lot of customers around this time - the diner really only had lunch rushes and because of their breakfast specials a lot of people came in the morning as well. As Bella approached the table, she realized it was only one person there.

A man. Russet skinned, inky black hair on his head, big muscles. She'd seen him before. She slowly came to a stop beside the table, and his head snapped up almost immediately. Bella tensed, her stomach suddenly warm as their eyes met and locked. She'd seen him on the beach, sure, but now that they were less than a foot away from each other, Bella let herself take in his features. He had dark eyes - almost black that were narrowed on her. His jaw strong and clenched shut, teeth surely grinding together. He was handsome - probably the handsomest guy that had walked into this place. He was maybe two or three inches shorter than Jake, but he was just as built. Now that she was getting a good look at him, she realized he was the one who'd lost his cool at the beach. For what, she wasn't sure. Jacob never told her.

Bella finally blinked - how long had she stood here staring at him and vice versa? Quickly, she tried to right herself, clutching her pen and notepad before she lost her grip, "I - Um, sorry. What can I get you?"

It took him a second to reply, though his eyes never left her face. "Coffee."

"Coffee." She repeated quietly, "Is that it?"

From her point of view, it looked like he was staring at her lips. But that was just a ridiculous thought. "Yeah. That's it."

She didn't bother jotting down, instead turning and walking away from him. She could feel his stare burning into her back. Fortunately, she didn't trip. While Bella prepared the coffee, she glanced over for a second to see Micah watching her. Warmth still within her stomach, she raised a brow at him, "What?"

"Nothing," Micah replied, still continuing to eye her. His gaze drifted over to the man sitting alone. "Do you know him or something?"

Bella looked back towards the coffee maker, shrugging one shoulder. She tried to look at casual as possible - after all, her heart rate had picked up tenfold just from locking eyes with her new customer. "Not really. I met him at the beach." When Micah raised his brows at her, she continued, "The place down at La Push. The one me and Valerie invited you to."

"Oh, yeah," Finally, his shoulders relaxed. "I was busy."

"Too busy to have fun?"

"Well, it looks like I'm never too busy for you, Bella. I'll come next time."

" _If_ there is a next time."

Micah glanced back towards the guy's table, "He's staring over here."

Bella couldn't help but tense, whispering, "Don't stare back!"

Micah merely narrowed his eyes at the guy, "He looks pissed."

"Even more of a reason _not_ to look at him!" Micah was pretty big, but he had nothing on the tall, russet skinned man. Absolutely nothing. Bella threw Micah a look over her shoulder while she took the coffee to her customer. Stopping by the table, she offered him a friendly smile - all the while attempting to ignore the hammering on her pulse. It was like her body's reactions were on autopilot - her eyes drifting down his arms, her hands twitching by her sides to touch ( so she was forced to clench them into fists behind her back ), and her stomach still felt warm.

It was odd. No guy had made her heart race since - well, _Edward_. And that was just a bad experience all around. She watched him for a beat or two, before her mouth opened on its own record, "Paul!"

He blinked, glancing up from his coffee and to her. It looked like he'd been lost in his thoughts.

"Y-Your name...I mean..." Bella tried to get out, "I remembered your name. It's Paul."

His already dark eyes seemed to darken even further from that. Bella watched with rapt attention as the muscles in his arms bunched, fingers tense. Slowly, he flexed his fingers out of the fists, wrapping one hand around his coffee mug and the other going under the table. "...Yeah. And you're Isabella, right?" His voice was rough and deep, but somehow soothing to her. A sliver of heat went down her spine and Bella narrowly resisted the urge to tremble.

Though, Bella was also surprised that her reaction wasn't one of her usuals. She didn't even bother opening her mouth to correct him, in the end, "Yeah. That's me."

He watched her reaction carefully, and Bella didn't miss the way his eyes dragged down her form - rather slowly at that. He didn't seem shy about it. Finally, when his gaze raised back to her face, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. Paul swallowed, "What time do you get off work?"

She was trapped by his stare, unable to look away. There was something there - she wasn't sure how or why it was there, but it was definitely enough to make her blurt out, "Nine fifteen. In an hour."

"I'll wait then."

 **.**

 **.**

"Spill right now."

Bella jumped, pausing from slipping on her jacket to glance behind her. Erica was there, hands on her hips. "What?"

"Spill. Now." She walked right up to Bella, leaning against the wall of lockers. Her arms were now crossed, "What's with the hot guy from the beach? He's been out there for - like an hour."

"So?"

"So, he's waiting for you."

The reminder made Bella's mouth dry. Why, again, did she tell him what time she got off? He was taller than her ( way taller ) and bigger than her ( way bigger ). Not that she was scared of Paul, but she couldn't help being intimidated. Whatever he wanted, it wasn't that important. She was more concerned over how attracted to him she was. It was intense, sudden. She could feel him watching her whenever she passed by his table to serve other customers. It felt like he was trying to stare a hole into her back.

"There's nothing to spill." What a lie.

"You're a shitty liar." Erica was having none of it, arched eyebrows raised and waiting for an answer. She was probably just wondering why Bella was getting more attention that her, something she surely wasn't used to. "You didn't talk to any of those guys at the beach, besides that John guy."

"It's _Jacob_."

Erica ignored that, and started to whine instead, "How come you're getting all the cute guys? All I have is dumb shit Evan and you get this Calvin Klein - Abercrombie Fitch model guy! It's totally not fair! No offense, but I'm much hotter than you."

"Offense taken," Bella said, though it was goodnatured. She wasn't paying much attention to Erica's complaining. Not only because the blonde always complained, but because her head was currently filled with more pressing matters. Such as the gorgeous man waiting for her. It was random and unexpected, but maybe it was more welcome than Bella originally thought. Sure, she felt like her heart was going to jump into her throat and out of her mouth at any second, but her body felt much lighter than it ever had in the last few months.

Ever in her life, in fact.

"Oh, gross, you're smiling like an idiot."

Bella blinked. She hadn't even realized she was smiling, "Sorry."

Erica just waved a hand at her, exasperated, "Just go. He's probably waiting." As Bella walked past her, the blonde spoke up again, "You might never get a guy as hot as him ever again. And I mean _ever_."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Bella replied sarcastically. Erica flipped her off in return. As Bella left the back room, she was surprised to see Micah was already gone. Usually, he would say goodbye to her before he clocked out. She didn't bother musing over it though, glancing over towards the table only to see Paul wasn't there anymore.

Bella blinked, face falling by a degree. Did he already leave? His coffee cup was completely empty, from what she could see. She couldn't stop the disappointment, even if she tried. The small drop of her shoulders, her face falling a bit as well. Silently, she left the diner, ignoring the cool bite of the wind that smacked against her face as soon as she was outside.

Bella only managed to walk a few steps before a hand suddenly ensnared her wrist, yanking her from the sidewalk and into an alley. The brunette's gasp was stuck within her throat, large brown eyes growing wider on her face when she saw Paul standing in front of her. It was surprising - he was so _warm_. It was bordering on feverish and it immediately made Bella's breathing pick up.

She stared up into his dark eyes. "I thought you left..."

"Why would I do that?" His voice was deeper than before, but quiet. Like he didn't want anyone to know they were there. Like they were in their own world. Once again, his eyes were dead-set on her lips, flickering over every part of her face before they settled on her mouth again. Subconsciously, she licked them. At that, his gaze locked with hers almost instantly.

He seemed to be warring with himself for a few seconds. This time, Bella couldn't contain her shiver. It was so weird - him being so warm, the heat was practically radiating off of him. Everything in Forks was so cold, even the colors. All the vegetation and the rain. The long, frigid winters and the short, luke-warm summers. He felt like - like _home_. Like Phoenix. The smell of musk and dirt and the sun. Like he'd been outside for hours. He moved closer, impossibly so that there were no less than three or four inches between them. Bella meant to put her hands up to hold him away, but her body was on autopilot again. As soon as her fingers touched him - even though it was through his shirt - they spread out to touch even more of him. It'd been a long time since she felt so comfortable in front of someone. And when was the last time she felt this warm? Not only from the outside, but the inside as well.

She felt like she was going to melt at any second. And he hadn't even touched her yet. Was she waiting for him to touch her? Wanting it? More than likely by this point.

He stared at her for a beat or two longer before muttering, "Fuck it," under his breath, and then his lips were suddenly descending onto hers. The pure _feeling_ was enough to make her inhale sharply, her pulse hammering away. It happened so fast - she wasn't completely sure how it happened. Her mind was much too muddled to make sense of anything at the moment.

He devoured her. There was no other way of explaining it. She'd never been kissed before, and this was surely something she would never forget. It wasn't soft or beautiful and there definitely wasn't any angels singing or anything like that. This wasn't like in those romance movies or books. They never described it as being this way.

It was raw. His kiss was desperate. Like he was starving and she was the only one who could help him. He gripped her hips with enough force for her to know she was going to have bruises. Bella didn't fight him though, not when he was so warm and his lips were so soft but so hard against hers. The next second, he was parting those nice lips and his tongue was in her mouth. He slowly, tentatively slid it across hers, and when she moaned, there was no more hesitation from him.

She was pressed up against the wall behind her, even through his clothes she could feel almost every nook and curve of his solid muscles, liquid heat flushing through her quick enough to make her head spin. Against her lips, he muttered, "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_..." He seemed just as muddled as she was, allowing his instincts to take a hold of him. He kissed her hard this time, longer when she still didn't put up any fight. Over and over again, his lips slanted against hers, his hands massaging and digging in her hips, her thighs, her ass.

Anything and everything he could possibly reach.

In the back of her head, she knew she shouldn't be doing this. Kissing a stranger on the side of the diner she worked at. A stranger that was Jacob's good friend. A strange who had thrown a fit at the party just a day ago. If her common sense hadn't been thrown out the window, she would've probably agreed with those thoughts.

 _But he's so warm..._

When he finally pulled away, Bella was out of breath and her lips were kiss-bruised. Panting, she stared up at him, eyes dark and wide, lashes fluttering for a few seconds as she tried to gather herself. It took him a few seconds, but when he realized what he did, he jerked up straight, hands pausing from squeezing her behind. He didn't seem to want to let go of her rear end, but he did, cursing under his breath, "Fuck, I'm - fuck, you just - I can't fucking stop - I couldn't fucking - "

Before he could even finish, Bella's hand reached out and slapped him right across the face.

 **.**

.

 **I am so so sorry for the late update. I was a little swamped with some things. Mostly my son. Anyway, my updates won't be speedy or anything like that, but I'll try my best with getting chapters out as fast as possible. Please don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts! It helps bring out chapters sooner when I have a good feel of what you guys think. The encouragement helps as well.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**.**

 **.**

Her hand was stinging - that was the first thing that registered. Nose wrinkling, Bella shook her palm, as if to brush off the feeling, "Ow! Fuck - _ow_!"

What was Paul's face made of - steel? Speaking of Paul's face, she'd just been sucking it a few seconds ago. He didn't particularly force himself onto her, but she didn't go around kissing strangers either. While he was distracted ( currently rubbing his cheek as if he couldn't believe it ), Bella pushed past him, snatching her forgotten bag off the ground and continuing down the sidewalk.

"Isabella! Hey!"

"It's _Bella_!" He swallowed the distance between them quickly with his long legs. Bella merely picked up speed. His hand was hot and rough when it grabbed onto the bare skin of her arm, twisting her back around to face him, "Don't touch me!"

Paul looked frustrated, carefully removing his hand after a few seconds, "Just - listen to me - "

"Why?"

"If you'd shut up, I'd tell you why!"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed, lips already turned down into a frown. Narrowing her eyes at his tone, she once again began moving away from him. Of course, he stopped her. Her cheeks felt warm and her heart was still trying to make its way out of her throat, "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, since you're _so_ good at that."

Paul sighed in clear annoyance, though Bella was certain she saw amusement tilt the corner of his lips for a second. Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he grunted, "Okay. That's fair." His dark eyes flickered back up towards her, "Listen - I didn't come here to kiss you."

She eyed him warily, hands tightening their grip into her bag, "...Just spit it out."

"I - " He gestured his hands vaguely, the movement quick and irritated, "I just want to...get to know you, okay?"

Bella was getting more and more confused by the second. First, he starts a ruckus at the beach party. Then he shows up to her job randomly to wait for her. Afterwards, he pretty much attacks her in an alleyway. And now, he was saying he wanted to _get to know her_. An incredulous laugh left her, "You don't get out much, do you?"

To be fair, neither did she.

Paul narrowed his dark eyes at her - he looked irritated again, "You always mouth off like this?"

Bella's smile left as quickly as it'd come, "I could ask the same thing."

They glared at each other for a few moments, Bella crossing her arms over her chest while Paul shifted on his feet. Neither of them seemed to be wavering. His gaze seemed to burn through her and Bella's pulse instinctively picked up. The entire situation was just unnerving, and she was narrowly resisting the urge to move forward and kiss him again. Finally, he looked away, growling under his breath, "I can't fucking do this." With that, he moved past her, shoulder brushing against hers and sending small tingles down her arm.

Bella turned her head slightly to watch him go. The sound of his footsteps were almost nonexistent.

It took her a couple of seconds to actually get her legs to move - they still felt weak from before. By the time she got home, she was already dragging her feet. Charlie wasn't home yet, so she was able to sit at the kitchen table to think for a little while.

Paul had _kissed_ her. Paul - the beautiful, tall russet-skinned man with a bad temper - had kissed her. And not just any type of kiss. It was one of those kisses that had her toes curling, her hands grasping at him any way she could, and she could've sworn she made a sound or two. Bella lifted her head from the table, hands against her face - her cheeks felt hot again.

How _embarrassing_.

She pretty much just made out with a random guy in an alleyway. It sounded like something Erica would do.

"Rough day?"

Bella jerked, hands slamming flat on the table - startling herself and Charlie, "Huh? Oh! Hey, dad." She'd been so consumed in her thoughts, she hadn't even heard him walk in. He was still dressed in his uniform, eyebrows raised towards her. She shook her head, waving off his concern, "No. No, it was a normal day. Very normal."

Charlie eyed her, " _Very_ normal, huh?"

"Mhm."

Even though he didn't look convinced, he still went towards the fridge, muttering, "Alright."

As he pulled out a beer, Bella decided to stand from the table, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, "I think I'm going to turn in early." Instead of waiting for his response, she headed upstairs as quickly as possible. She was fast to strip from her clothes, kicking off her shoes and socks as well.

She _really_ needed a shower.

 **.**

 **.**

 _Ring. Ring._

Bella groaned, rolling over in bed to glance at the clock on her bedside table. It only read 10:34 AM, so she'd missed her chance to get up and start on her morning jog. She supposed she could skip a day or two - after all, today was her day off.

 _Ring. Ring._

Oh, yeah. It was her phone that woke her up.

Limply, she stretched a hand out towards the sound - missing a couple times before she finally managed to grab it. A hand pushed her hair back from her face, "Hello?"

"You sound gross."

"I just woke up, Erica."

The blonde scoffed through the receiver, "That's no excuse."

Bella sighed, sitting up now. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she murmured, "What do you want?"

"Come out with me today."

Bella blinked, back straightening, "Out?"

She could imagine Erica rolling her eyes, "Yes. Out. Like - outside. You want to or not?"

"Sure. Yeah."

Two hours later, Bella was standing in front of a pricey boutique in Port Angeles. She nervously fiddled with her messenger bag, glancing up when her name was called, "Erica, hey!" She tried to sound more exuberant than she felt, offering a big smile that she knew brought out her dimples, "What's up?"

Erica stopped in front of her, hair in a high ponytail and makeup perfect. Bella didn't understand the point of it all - it was probably going to melt with the heat, after all it was pretty humid today. Erica gave her a once-over before making a face, "What're you wearing?"

She said it like Bella had personally insulted her. Looking down at herself, she asked, "What's wrong?" Bella's style had always been simple - at the moment, she was wearing a camisole with a pair of shorts - thanks to the heat, she was actually able to wear them for once. "I look okay, don't I?"

"You look like you don't care."

"I _don't_."

"You're lucky you've got a nice pair of legs." She walked past Bella, opening the door to the store. "C'mon." Bella followed her inside, expression curious. Another thing she liked about Erica, she didn't treat her like she was made of glass like most people. After her accident, she either got a lot of stares from people or they acted like she would break any second. Whether from something physical or mental, she had no idea. Erica wasn't like that, she wasn't afraid to hold her tongue.

"You'd look cute in this."

Bella looked up - she'd been picking through a few pairs of shirts on a rack. She wasn't particularly interested in buying anything, but Erica sure was. She held up a light blue sundress with a low dip in the breasts and bare back. The brunette blinked at it, "It's...cute."

Erica rolled her eyes, "Oh, c'mon, Bella. Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Like _that_. Like you. You act like you're still in high school. You're a _woman_. The guys at the diner look at you _almost_ as much they do with me. If you actually tried sometimes, you'd get laid."

"You know, sometimes you sound like a guy."

"And that's a bad thing because...?" Erica tilted her head at her, voice uninterested now, "All I'm saying is that you're a pretty girl. Not as pretty as _me_ , but - pretty. You've got killer legs. And nice tits. Valerie even said so."

Bella blinked again, "Valerie said that?"

"Multiple times. I think she had a small crush on you when you first came to the diner." She pursed her lips, "Micah hasn't given up on his."

Now, Bella was confused, "... _Micah_? Micah who works the bar?"

"Who else?"

"I'm - Micah does _not_ have a crush on me."

The blonde snorted, putting the dress back on hanger, "Wow, you really are blind." Sighing, she put a hand on her hip, deciding to drop the subject when Bella gave her a hesitant look. "So, how did things go with Tall, Dark, and Handsome last night?"

Bella tensed almost immediately.

Erica's perfect eyebrows rose, "Good then?"

"Yes. No...I don't know." She was trying to avoid the subject completely, but of course, Erica would bring it up. Just the thought of Paul's body pressed against hers, lips moving against her skin, his hands splaying across her back, it was enough to make her heart rate increase. There was warmth again - right in her stomach and spreading through her entire body. "He..." She cleared her throat once, "He was nice."

"How big was he?"

"Excuse me?"

"How big was he? Like - did it fit?"

"Wha - " It took Bella a few seconds to realize what she meant. Face brightening and mouth falling open, she hissed, "We didn't have _sex_!"

Erica stared at her before laughing a bit to herself, "No shit?"

Bella didn't look the least bit amused, "No shit."

"Bella?" Both said girl and Erica looked up at the call.

"... _Mike_?" He was a few feet away from her. He looked - well, _good_. The baby-fat had completely left his face. His jaw was much more defined, high cheekbones and he had a healthy-looking tan. His clothes also looked a bit too fancy for Forks. "Mike, oh my god, hi."

He grinned - a smile that probably won girls over easily - and crossed the store, spreading his arms wide to hug her. Bella returned the embrace, already smiling back at him, "Hey," he said once he pulled away, "How're you? Holy shit, I heard you were out of the hospital, but I didn't know you would - " He gave her an appreciative once over before looking back towards her face, "It's just - ah, you look great. Really, Bella."

"Thanks," she replied quickly, still trying to take everything in, "I heard from Angela that you lived out of town now."

"Yeah, yeah," he nodded, "I'm the CCO of this federal bank in Seattle. It's great."

"And...is Jessica with you?" Bella couldn't help but ask. Not only was it easy to see that Jessica had the biggest crush on Mike back in high school, but she also made sure Bella stayed away from him as well. It didn't particularly matter to her back then. When he gave her a curious glance, Bella waved a hand nonchalantly, "Angela."

"Ah," he nodded again, "But no. No, we're not together anymore." A pause, "We were engaged at some point, but - you know. Some things don't always work out."

Bella's expression fell slightly, "Oh. I'm sorry."

Mike merely smiled, "I'm not."

" _Ahem_ ," Erica took that chance to clear her throat unnecessarily loudly next to Bella. Mike's gaze flickered over to her - or rather, her impressive cleavage. "Bella, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh! Um - Mike, this is Erica. Erica, Mike. We went to highschool together."

Giving her prettiest smile, Erica stuck out her hand for him to shake, "Nice to meet you. Bella never told me she went to school with such _nice_ guys."

Mike laughed, the sound deep and smooth, "We went to school together very briefly," As he shook Erica's hand, he glanced back over to Bella, his gaze warm, "I was planning to take you to the Spring dance."

Bella's eyebrows rose at that, "Oh, really? Jessica wouldn't have liked that."

"Yeah, well. Jessica didn't like a lot of things." He didn't seem very happy to talk about her, so Bella decided not to reply. As he let go of Erica's hand, he spoke up again, "I'm only back in town for the weekend. Me and a few of my coworkers were going to go out tonight. You're more than welcome to come."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but Erica cut her off, "We'll be there!"

Mike grinned, satisfied - though the smile was aimed more towards the brunette rather than Erica. "Great. You still have the same number, right?" When Bella nodded quietly, his handsome smile widened, "I'll call you and let you know where to meet us, hm?"

Again, Bella nodded like a bobble head. Erica nudged her hard in the side.

"It's good to see you again, Bella." And with that, he was out of the store, leaving the two girls there.

As soon as Mike was out of sight, Bella received a hard pinch on her arm. "Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing a hand over the spot, "What was that for?"

"What is with you?" Erica seemed frustrated for some reason.

" _Me_? You're the one attacking people!"

Erica rolled her eyes, arms crossing over her chest, "I meant with all the guys. First Micah, then all the guys at the beach, then the model guy from last night, and now this hot blondie with a thousand dollars in his pocket! You're impossible!"

Bella continued to rub at her arm, narrowing her eyes at the blonde, "Mike is just a friend."

"Uh huh. Just like Micah is a friend and Tall, Dark, and Handsome is a friend, and Jamie is a friend - "

"His name is _Jacob_."

"The point being," Erica waved that off, "It's not fair. I don't get it." Deciding not to muse over it for long, the blonde continued, "Anyway, since we're going, what're you wearing tonight?"

Bella glanced down at herself, "...This?"

"...Seriously, what _is_ it with you?"

 **.**

 **.**

"Whoa," Charlie immediately sat up more in his recliner when Bella came down the stairs. Almost instantly, her face felt warm. "That's a little...much, isn't it?"

"You're forgetting I'm going to be twenty-three soon," Bella walked past the living room, the heels Erica let her borrow within her hands. She could tell Charlie didn't very much approve of the dress - really, neither did she. But she couldn't deny that it made her feel - well, _nice_. It was black with spaghetti straps and a low dip in the back and it was also Erica's. Surprisingly, it fit her rather well; stopping at mid-thigh and clinging to her figure.

"Oh, c'mon, Officer Swan, don't make that face," Erica teased as she made it down to the living room as well. Her dress was shorter than Bella's, if that were possible. After stopping by the recliner, she lingered a hand on Charlie's for a few seconds before making her way over to Bella, handing her her flavored chapstick. "Here."

Bella made a face at her, but took it nonetheless. "Would you mind not flirting with my dad?"

Erica merely smiled, "Always good to have a backup plan. I'm sure his pension will probably be pretty high."

"Gross."

"Let's go." As she took a hold of Bella's arm and tugged her towards the door, Erica threw a dazzling smile over her shoulder, "Don't wait up, Officer Swan." The way the blonde drawled out his name made Bella wrinkle up her nose. "Hey, hurry up and put those heels on."

"I'm not going to break my neck going down the stairs, thanks," Bella replied sarcastically. When Erica gave her a look, the brunette relented, "I'll put them on in the car, okay?" As soon as they pulled off from the curb, Bella could already feel the anxiety building in her stomach. Not only did she know absolutely nothing about the nightclub scene, but she also didn't want to embarrass herself by toppling over in Erica's heels.

"Hey."

Bella looked up to see Erica glancing at her as they stopped at a red light.

"Stop freaking out over there. It's gonna mess up your makeup."

Bella gave her a tentative smile, "Thanks for helping me." The blonde had taken care of her appearance - the dress, the makeup, and her hair had been teased into messy curls that fell over her shoulders, "I have no idea how to do this stuff."

"Yeah, I figured," Erica replied, speeding forward as soon as the light turned green, "Whatever you're worrying about over there, it's stupid. Just - stop stressing all the fucking time. Relax. You're hot. You've got all these guys under your thumb. And it's not like - you're stupid or anything. Seriously. You act like you're in one of those bad dramas Evan watches all the time."

"Speaking of Evan," Bella decided to change the subject as quickly as possible, "How does he feel about you going out tonight?"

Erica snorted, "I don't care how he feels. I told him and then left to come to your house. By the way, when're you going to move outta there?"

Bella's eyebrows furrowed, "Move out...you mean from my dad's?"

"Yeah." Erica said it like it was obvious, "Like you said, you're about to be twenty-three. You got all your shit together, right? You're an adult now, you can do whatever the hell you want," As they rounded a corner, she looked towards Bella again, "I'm trying to move out of Evan's anyway. We should get a place together or somethng."

Bella could feel a grin tugging at her lips, "Are you...asking me to be your roommate?"

Erica rolled her eyes, "Oh, my _god_. Don't take this as some type of bonding shit. I need a roommate, you need a roommate, and we're both making enough money to put together into a place. That's it."

"Just admit it," Bella's grin was now at full force, "You like me. You wanna be friends with me."

"Oh, _god_."

They drove the rest of the way with small banter, Erica seemingly annoyed the entire time while Bella couldn't stop smiling. She was surprised when they arrived at the club Mike invited them to - Club Velvet, it was called - cars were swarming around and there was a long line at the entrance. As soon as Erica found a parking spot, she muttered, "Hurry up and put on your heels. I'm gonna show you what being hot gets you."

Bella blinked, hurrying to strap on the heels and stumbling out of the car. She was quick to right herself and attempt to move like Erica, who had no problem swinging her hips and making her way to the security in the front. He glanced down at her as soon as she stopped beside him, cleavage in his line of view. Erica gave him a coy smile, "Hey, handsome."

Two minutes later, Bella was walking into the place, following behind Erica. She laughed incredulously, "How did you do _that_?"

Erica smiled back at her, tossing some blonde hair over her shoulder, "Guys are easy. It's the dyke bouncers you have to worry about."

The music was loud and the lights were dimmed. Moving bodies were on the first floor of the club, mostly people dancing or making their way to the extensive bar. For Washington ( or for the little time she'd explored it ), the place was pretty impressive. Even the waitresses walking around with drinks seemed to be dressed nicely - or enough to make their assets stand out.

"Now," Erica said over the music, "Let's find your _friend_."

Bella moved past her, a little more confident as she spent more time in the heels, "Mike _is_ just a friend."

"Whatever you say," Erica was now singing along with the music, eyeing the bar appreciatively. They made their way to the second floor of the club, where the booths and VIP members were. Almost immediately, Bella caught sight of Mike.

"Bella!" He seemed to notice her at the exact same moment, standing from his booth and walking over. He had a hug ready for her, pulling back for a second to look at her. "You look good."

Bella couldn't stop the small laugh from leaving her, "Thanks. You too." He was still dressed in what she guessed was his work clothes. Pressed grey pants and a white button down that had a few buttons loose and the sleeves rolled up. He'd probably already removed his jacket and tie. She didn't fail to notice that his hand lingered on her hip for longer than necessary.

Most of his coworkers were leaning around to get a glimpse at Bella, their gazes settled on Erica after awhile though. Some others were tipping back the shots the waitress had brought them. "Really glad you could make it. Thought you were going to blow me off."

Bella gave Mike a curious smile, "Why would I do that?"

He raised a brow at her, "That's pretty much all you did in highschool."

"Really?" Now, Bella was surprised. Maybe it was her memory playing tricks on her and she forgot. Or maybe she was a bit more icy towards others than she first thought, "I thought you were more into Jessica."

He laughed, flashing his perfect smile at her, "No way. She even knew I was into you." He paused there, leaning closer so she would be able to hear him better over the music, "You were too sucked up in Cullen, I guess."

Bella couldn't stop herself from tensing at that. Mike seemed to want to backtrack - thinking he offended her, but she shook her head, "Yeah. I was."

He eyed her for a second or two, "You asked me about Jess, but I never got to ask about you? Seeing anyone?" From what she could see, he looked as if he was waiting for her to say Edward. But for some reason, Paul's face flickered across her mind before she could stop it.

His kiss. The pure heat that leaked from him.

Quickly, Bella shook her head - to get rid of the thoughts or to deny the question, she wasn't sure, "Nope. No one."

Mike relaxed, handsome smile still there, "Mm. Good." He glanced back towards his friends, but they seemed occupied with their alcohol and Erica. "How about I go get us some drinks?"

Bella lifted a hand to pat him on the chest once, "No, no. I'll go get something. I haven't gotten a chance to try anything, really. So I gotta be careful." Mike nodded, watching her with his light blue eyes. Bella carefully walked down the steps, suddenly finding the whole place stuffy and overwhelming. As soon as Paul had slipped into her head, she once again felt her stomach fill with warmth. Her body's reaction was really starting to bug her. Now, it was like everything in her was telling her to go and see him.

She'd been pushing down this feeling all day. She was beginning to realize thinking about him wasn't really helping her case.

"Hi, can I get a water?" She murmured as she finally made it to the bar.

"Bella?"

Her head lifted, "Valerie?"

Valerie smiled at her from behind the bar, eyes wide and excited, "Hey, you look great!"

"You work here?"

Valerie nodded as she wiped down a glass, "Working part-time at Lenny's place isn't gonna pay all my bills, y'know." As she placed a water bottle in front of Bella, she asked, "You here with someone?"

"Uh - yeah," she quickly took the water, trying to ignore the shakiness in her voice, "With Erica and some friends."

"Erica?" Valerie raised her eyebrows, "If your _friends_ are guys, I'd watch her. And make sure she doesn't drink a lot," When Bella nodded silently, the dark-skinned woman frowned then, "You okay?"

"Yeah!" Bella said, putting more force into it than necessary, "Just - I just think too much."

"Hey, B," Valerie was giving her a look, "I don't know what's going on with you lately, but just have fun, okay? You deserve it. Out of everyone here, _you_ deserve it. And Erica is definitely the type of girl you can have fun with," For some reason, it sounded like there was a double meaning to her words. Valerie pursed her lips, "No matter what kind of mood you're in."

"...Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Valerie." The woman merely smiled at her, turning to the next customer. Bella was quick to chug down her water, glancing up towards where the booths were. She could spot Mike talking to one of his friends, a smile on his face. Swiping a hand across her mouth - careful not to ruin any of her makeup - Bella squared her shoulders.

 _Have fun._ She could do that.

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 **Sorry there wasn't much Bella/Paul in this chapter. I wanted to squeeze him in ( even some of his POV ) but there wasn't a lot of room. Please bear in mind that this fic is about Bella _finding herself_. Of course, there will be a lot of hardships, complications, etc. I'm not saying I'm going to put her in any other relationships besides Paul, but I will definitely let her test the waters before anything else. Just a little heads up if that's something you guys aren't into ( Bella being interested in other men besides Paul, even if its for a small while ). **

**Next chapter I will be sure to make it a Paul/Bella chapter. Mostly in Paul's POV, and them seeing each other again. It will help when you can get a feel of what he's feeling. Sorry if there are any spelling errors, etc.**

 **Also, don't be shy to leave a review. I really love you guys thoughts and opinions. It helps a lot with my writing. I want to keep Bella as in character as possible in this situation, even though I don't agree with much of her character development in canon.**


	7. Chapter 7

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"Drive safe, now."

" _Thanks_."

Paul watched as the police officer made his way back to his cruiser, the red and blue lights finally being shut off when he got back inside. Gripping the ticket in his hand ( and resisting the urge to chuck it out the window ), Paul pulled off from the side of the highway, glaring at the dark road in front of him.

He deserved the ticket, he knew that - he'd been pushing one-hundred in a seventy limit. No wonder the cop pulled him over. Driving aimlessly pissed for hours seemed like a good idea until an officer catches you or you start to run out of gas.

 _Oh, yeah._ He was pissed. Almost forgot. To quell the shaking in his hands, he gripped the steering wheel as tightly as possible. His racing thoughts weren't really helping his case either.

 _Isabella. Bella. Isabella._

God, fuck, he wished he could just stop thinking for a second. Ever since he'd imprinted on the girl, she'd been in the center of his thoughts constantly. Her hair, her eyes, her lips. Let's not forget he practically attacked her in an alleyway like he was some kind of creep. Just the thought of the kiss made him lick his lips anxiously ( to see if her taste was still there ). She had been warm and pliant against him, the small sounds she made almost made him turn her around and fuck her right against the wall. She hadn't been exactly fighting him off, but she didn't say she wanted it either.

That made him feel like an even bigger asshole than before.

Typically, he couldn't care less what people thought of him. Especially when it came to the women he screwed around with - they made up rumors about him, criticized him, and gossiped as much as possible after they spent a night in his bed. Paul had a pretty bad reputation on the reservation. Before, he didn't bother correcting what people thought of him ( most weren't lies, after all ), but now he was cringing at the thought of Bella hearing any of it. Imprinting really was like this cage - he wanted to be better for her, the exact opposite of himself.

Rather than thinking she deserved better, he was practically telling himself he could become better and _more_.

A growl working from his throat, he came to an abrupt stop, dust and dirt flying up from the screech of his wheels. The next second, he was out of his truck, slamming the door behind him - hard enough for the glass to crack, apparently. That was the least of Paul's worries as he climbed the steps, wrenching the patio door out of his way.

The talking and laughter in the kitchen of Emily's shack stopped when all eyes landed on him. He was probably a sight to behold, really. Hair messily strewn across his head ( he'd been furiously tugging and running his fingers through it since the kiss ), muscles jumping and shuddering as he tried to fight down the pure impulse to shift where he was, thick shoulders rising and falling raggedly. Jacob, Sam, Embry, and Emily all stood in the kitchen. Sam wrapped around his mate, though his arms tightened almost protectively when he saw Paul. Jacob pushed himself off of the wall, arms crossed over his chest and expression concerned. Embry had paused from his eating, the fork still inches away from his mouth.

"Paul?" Sam pulled himself from Emily, though he made sure she fell behind him - still protecting her. Before, Paul could never understand that, the need to protect someone so fiercely. But now, he did. It only made his jaw set, teeth clenched tight together. "You alright?"

"Do I _look_ fucking alright?!"

In the back of his mind, a small, _small_ voice was telling him that Sam didn't deserve that. Especially since he had nothing to do with it ( also, he was the Alpha ). But Sam remained calm, raising his hands in a sign of surrender, "Calm down, Paul." His voice was deep - the command clear in his tone.

Jacob flanked Sam's right, muscles taut and shoulders stiff, "Seriously. You need to chill out."

He was a hair's breadth away from shifting in Emily's house. A _major_ no-no. It took a minute or two, but after some deep breathing and clenching and unclenching his hands, Paul managed to quell the shaking, at least for now. His breathing was still labored when he finally said something, "...My bad." He knew he was overstepping an unspoken rule - being this angry near Emily. And especially in her house. Said woman watched him warily, leaning around Sam to see him better. Paul glanced away, gnawing on his lip, " _Sorry_."

It took a second for Sam to relax, raising a big hand to clap it against Paul's shoulder, "It's fine. Just...relax. What happened?"

Paul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Bringing back up the thing that made him pissed in the first place wasn't going to help, "It's not fucking _fine_. Nothing is." He needed to get his hands on something ( preferably _someone_ , but no one stupid was close by for him to punch, unless you counted Embry ), so he leaned against one of Emily's chairs, clenching his fingers tightly around the back of the seat. "First of all, I got a fucking _ticket_ –"

Embry finally spoke - well, really laughed. Right in Paul's face. "You got a _ticket_? Holy shit, for what?"

Paul managed to bite back a curse in the guy's direction, "Speeding."

That only made Embry laugh harder. Paul could've sworn he also saw Jacob's lips twitching a bit. Sam put his hands on his hips, stance more open now that things had calmed down, "You came here this pissed off because of a traffic ticket?"

"No," Paul more or less growled, tightening his hands around the back of the chair - he heard the wood creak a bit in protest, "It's because of that _girl_!"

Jacob looked puzzled, "What girl?"

"Shit– _fucking_... _Isabella_!" Talking to them was just making him more heated like before.

Almost immediately, Jacob's look of concern and confusion morphed into something darker. His eyes narrowed, and his arms dropped from his chest, taking one large step to get around Sam and closer to Paul, "What did you do to Bella?"

Paul met his glare head-on, refusing to back down, "I don't see how that's any of your fucking business, Black." The two of them eyed each other for a few seconds before Sam moved between them once again, using a long arm to create some space between the packmates.

"I'm not going to keep telling you guys to _calm down_."

Jacob didn't even appear as if he were listening, his dark gaze was trained solely on Paul, "I asked you a question."

Paul flexed out his fingers by his sides - his hands had been slowly tightening into fists as the seconds went by. "I kissed her."

Jacob's reaction was small, but noticed. His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing slightly, "You... _kissed_ her."

"That's what I said."

"You don't even _know_ her."

"Fuck you, Jacob."

"No - _fuck you_. You're pretty much admitting to forcing yourself on her."

"She's my _imprint_." Paul had no idea why that flew out of his mouth - like that was even a reason. But it felt like one. His instincts, at that very moment, had told him to claim her however he could. He tried to think of a way to justify his actions, after all, she kissed him back. "And for your fucking information, it takes two to tango."

Jacob looked close to punching him, but Sam forced his way through them completely. "Stop arguing." Fortunately, he was facing Paul when he said this. So Paul backed off, taking a step back. Emily was out of the kitchen by then, lingering by the living room entrance. Even Embry had stood up from his seat, expression tense and food forgotten. "Both of you, outside now."

Paul was the first to turn on his heel and head outside, feet heavy and light shudders going up and down his spine. If he didn't reel it in soon, he would end up shifting. Sam made sure to stay in between the two, glancing over at Paul first, "Mind telling us what the hell happened?"

Paul shifted on his feet, "I went to her job. Waited for her. And kissed her. End of story."

Jacob wasn't the least bit happy with that, face hard, "How is that the end of the story? What about Bella?"

"I don't fucking know," Paul raised his voice, ignoring the look Sam gave him, "I kissed her. And...," he paused there, glancing between the two of them, "And she slapped me."

Sam blinked, "She _slapped_ you."

Jacob's shoulders relaxed a bit at that, though he also started to pace, "Good."

"Fuck you," Paul repeated, flipping him off, "She slapped me. We had some...words. And I left, alright? I didn't fucking hurt her. I would - I would _never_ do that." The stuff coming out of his mouth tonight was surprising, even Sam blinked at him again. Gesturing vaguely with his hand, he muttered, "She was being a bitch."

" _Don't_ call her that."

"Oh, shut the fuck up, Ja–"

"Both of you. Shut it," Sam was getting exasperated by that point, turning to Paul once again, "I told you if you didn't feel as if you had enough control to not see her. It makes everything difficult. Not only for you, but your wolf."

Paul's nose wrinkled, "Look, I'm trying here! I was just gonna talk to her."

"Since when're you good at talking?"

"If you say one more fucking word, Jaco–"

"I'm serious, Paul," Sam cut in again. Paul glanced towards him, swallowing once at the somber on the Alpha's face, "You shouldn't go near her if you can't control yourself. You might hurt her," Paul opened his mouth to protest, but Sam continued, "Self control isn't exactly your strongest suit here." Paul kept his mouth shut, eyes casting off to the side. On the Rez and in the pack, he was well known for flying off the handle. Whether it be with his fists or his loud as hell voice, he usually settled confrontations and problems with violence. His wolf, unlike the others, moved purely on instinct. It was hard to control himself once he did shift - Embry even commented once ( while listening to Paul's thoughts ) that Paul's thought process while in the form was pretty primal. It was hard to communicate with him and even harder to get him to listen once he locked onto something.

The wolf had a mind of its own really. And with this whole imprinting thing being solely instinct, Paul couldn't blame Sam for being wary. Still, it didn't make him any less angry. He pretty much forced out a response, "I'm _fine_. I just–" He blew out a ragged breath, ripping a hand through his hair roughly, "I just...I _can't_ be away from her, alright? I literally felt like I was losing my mind."

She was like a damn drug. His thoughts wouldn't stop rounding back to her - her hair, her face, her body. It was constantly _Bella, Bella, Isabella_ now. He'd only been away from her for a couple hours and already he felt like he was having withdrawals. Honestly, how did Sam stand it?

Sam understood though, it showed in his eyes. He placed a hand on Paul's shoulder, "Go for a run. Clear your head as much as you can. Alright?"

Paul didn't reply, instead glancing over Sam's arm to see Jacob watching him carefully. Blowing out another rough breath, Paul backed away from the two, already shredding from his shirt and unbuckling his jeans. He was phased and running through the trees within a couple seconds.

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By the time he got back home, it was sunrise. He had pretty much ran in circles for the entire night and day, killing almost everything he ran into. He also uprooted a few trees. Phasing back into his human form, Paul roughly opened the door to his small home, kicking an empty beer can out of his way. He was naked, sweaty, and still agitated. A long shower and breakfast was overdue at this point. Once he finished bathing and eating, he considered whether or not to even bother leaving his house again.

When Paul got around to checking his phone, he saw he had a few missed calls from Leah. His eyes narrowed at the name, shoveling eggs in his mouth. Leah had left for college a couple years ago - she'd been through so much shit, he couldn't blame her for wanting to leave town and go as far as possible. Now, she was in Florida. He wasn't really sure what she was doing - she hadn't contacted any of them since last year, around Seth's birthday. Seth had been the one who stayed after Harry's passing.

Paul tossed away his phone, hearing the dulled sound of it hitting the couch. After finishing his plate full of eggs, he leaned over the sink, thoughts once again drifting away. They circled back to none other than Isabella. She always seemed to be at the forefront of his mind, whether he liked it or not. The kiss wouldn't stop playing over and over in his head, and he found himself sporting a woody just from standing there thinking about it for a couple minutes.

He really did have a serious problem. This imprinting was like some kind of disease.

It took him a full five minutes of jerking off to feel better. And another ten minutes to gather himself and grab his car keys. Paul tried to keep it under forty-five, fingers tense around the steering wheel. By this point, he knew the way to Bella's house by heart. He'd followed her back when her friends took her home from the beach. Jacob had been pretty pissed off about that.

And, yeah, Paul had remembered smelling the leech. So had Jacob. Bella was also pretty saturated in the vampire's smell when Paul saw her yesterday. He could feel a growl working in his chest at the thought - the fucking bitch even had the nerve to spend the night at his imprint's place. For now, though, as he pulled up in front of the house, he couldn't smell a whiff of her.

He'd deal with it later.

Paul parked his car on the opposite side of the street, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. Irritated and anxious, the shapeshifter left his vehicle, paying no mind to the cracked glass of his window ( he'd get it fixed tomorrow ). As he crossed the street, he noticed Charlie's cruiser was parked outside. And he could hear him inside - getting ready for the day, probably.

He gave three sharp knocks against the door, waiting for a moment. Charlie poked his head out, still in his pajamas and coffee in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed, "...Paul?"

 _Oh, yeah_. He could count on one hand how many times he'd seen Charlie's face at the police station. So Paul probably wasn't his favorite person. He didn't bother offering a smile, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Hey, Chief. Isabella home?"

Charlie's face dropped even more, confusion there now, "Bella? Paul - it's seven in the morning."

"I know that, Chief. Is she home or not?" He was getting pretty impatient already.

"She's not," Charlie replied, taking a drink of his coffee. He didn't seem to like Paul's attitude. No one really did. "She went out with some friends last night." He eyed Paul for a few seconds, coffee cup still at his mouth, "Why?" From a outsider's point of view, this would probably seem pretty odd. Paul had never come to Charlie's house before, he'd never shown even an ounce of interest in Charlie or his daughter that had been in a coma for five years. In fact, he didn't even _like_ the Chief.

Still, he swallowed down his smart-ass reply, and said, "Wanted to talk to her."

Charlie stared at him for a few more seconds, as if to decipher if he was telling the truth. After a minute or two, he shrugged, "She should be back soon. You can wait, if you want."

 _Wait_. Yeah. He could do that.

Without further instruction, he sat down on the steps of the porch. Charlie stood there, watching him for a little while before closing the door gently. Probably went back inside to continue getting ready for work. Paul wasn't exactly sure how long he waited - thirty minutes maybe - but he did look up when an expensive looking car pulled up. It was a sleek black, the top hoodless and he spotted Isabella almost immediately.

Every hair on his body stood up, eyes focused solely on her. She got out of the car, and he watched those long legs, the black dress clinging to her figure did wonders, and her hair had obviously been tossed around wildly during the ride, messily curled and falling around her back and shoulders. It took a moment, but he soon noticed that someone else was in the car with her.

Without even glancing in his direction, Isabella rounded the car and came to a stop on the driver's side, a playful smile on her face, "Thanks for the ride, Newton."

The stiff looking blond grinned up at her, holding a hand up to his heart, "Newton? After that night, you call me Newton."

The brunette laughed, the sound perking up Paul's ears. The sound made his heart do a complete flip - it was loud and she had thrown her head back a little. She might've been a little drunk, but the clear joy on her face made him stare. He couldn't completely see her front since she was facing the guy in the car, but this also gave him a chance to enjoy her ass too. "Okay, okay. Fine. I'll stick to Mike."

"Thanks," the blond's voice held amusement. Now that Paul was focusing on their conversation ( and not just Bella ), he was able to grasp what exactly was going on. Or at least, some of it. It slowly dawned on him that she'd been out last night with the stiff. Rode in his car. In that tight little dress. And came back in the morning. _With the stiff_.

And they were clearly pretty familiar with each other. From the way Bella was leaning towards the guy, from the way the guy was staring at her. Almost immediately, Paul's muscles bunched, hands tightening into fists between his spread legs. It took nearly everything in him to stay rooted to place.

"Call me, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks again for the ride back, Mike."

"No problem." His hand lingered on hers for a few seconds, "Hey, I want a rematch next time."

Bella laughed again, "You're on."

By the time the guy pulled off from the curb, Paul was trying to stop the shaking in his hands. He watched Isabella, watching as she stared after the expensive black car, her heels dangling from her hand. Finally, she turned away from the street, heading towards the house only to stop short when she noticed Paul.

They stared at each for a couple seconds, Bella's shell-pink lips parted and brown eyes wide. Paul couldn't help but give her another once over - she _really_ looked good.

 _Fuck_.

"...Wanna tell me what the fuck that was?"

Bella blinked, the skin between her eyebrows wrinkling, "Excuse me?"

Paul stood, noticing their differences in height again. She was at chest level with him, barely reaching his shoulder. Before he could control his stupid mouth, he more or less growled, "I _said_ what the fuck was that?"

Her face lost all traces of amusement from before, blinking at him again before her lips pressed into a firm line, "I don't see how that's any of your business."

She was angry. _Good_.

He was good when it came to arguing. To anger. He could deal with that. It only fueled him on, after all, "If it's not my business, then who's?!" He was her imprint, for fuck's sake. Whether she knew it or not, he _knew_ she felt the pull between them. She wouldn't have kissed him back if she didn't. He licked his lips, and he didn't miss the way she watched the movement. "You fucking him?"

She jerked, as if shocked he would ask such a thing. "Screw you!"

None of this back and forth was really helping like Paul thought it would. Seeing her angry was actually starting to turn him on. And he was pretty sure he was already screwing up enough when it came to interacting with her, he didn't need his dick poking her or something. It also didn't help that he was pretty much warring with himself - his Instinct telling him to be gentle with her, claim her as fast as possible while his more rational side said to just walk away like last time.

 _Did he fucking want her or not?_

 _Yes_. More than anything.

 _No_. He needed to stop this.

 _Make up your mind._

His body moved on its own accord, eyes focused on her face and she stopped in the middle of whatever she was saying. "I'm letting you know this now, if I see you with him again, I'll kick his ass."

Bella looked even more angry than before, "Who - Who the hell do you think you are? If you think I'm just going to - _Mmph_!"

He kissed her again. He couldn't help it. Sam was right - he was bad when it came to self control.

But just like that, she went soft against him, body pliant and lips melding with his. His hands moved on their own too, reaching up and touching her face, one hand brushing against her chin, her cheek, and then finally settling on the back of her neck to hold her to him, fingers knitting into her thick, soft hair. His other hand smoothed down to her neck, touching her soft skin and resting against her collarbone. She felt so fragile under his touch, warm and gentle, her body fitting against the grooves and curves of his perfectly. Searing heat shot through him when her lips parted against his, letting out a small gasp when he moved forward and kissed her again, swallowing down her noises with ease.

It was _too_ _good_. Way too fucking good and if he didn't stop, he'd end up fucking her outside. They'd only been kissing for a few seconds - it felt like hours to him - and he was already on his last shred of self control.

Bella was the one who stopped the kiss, yanking away quickly, panting. Her eyes were large on her face, the brown darker than usual and filled with excitement. He wanted to kiss her again, but she used her little fists to create some distance between them.

"What am I doing - What're _you_ doing - Oh, my _god_ –"

She was close to hitting him again - he knew that look. So he took one of her fists, pressing it against his chest, refusing to break eye contact with her. "Feel that?"

She blinked again, her long lashes fluttering. She looked as if she had difficulty focusing. "Paul–"

"Do you feel that?" Paul asked slowly, his voice low and rough. He saw her shiver at that, "That's what you do to me." Her soft, pale hand was placed directly over his heart, which was thudding fast and loud in his ears. "I know you feel it. I know you feel this, Isabella." Her eyebrows furrowed, teeth worrying her bottom lip as she stared up at him. He dropped his hands from her face and neck, trying to give her some breathing room. "Just..." He inhaled her scent, an attempt to calm himself. Unfortunately, it just made his body more excited. "Just lemme talk. Hear me out. Five minutes."

Bella seemed to consider it for a few seconds, flickering her brown gaze from his chest, his lips, and his eyes. Finally, she whispered, "...Okay." And then a pause, "Five minutes."

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 **FINALLY! I got them in the same chapter again. I know everyone was waiting for a Paul POV chapter. I don't think I'm that good at writing him, so I avoided it a little. I hope this came out okay for you guys. I always thought of Paul as the one who has less control than the others, and then that being tenfold when it comes to imprinting so.**

 **Anyway, vampires will be addressed next chapter. Also, a long awaited talk between these two because they really, really need it. If you guys want any appearances that you especially want to see for the next chapter, let me know! Just to let you guys know as well, things won't be easy for Bella and Paul. There are a lot of things that need to be developed, so don't expect an INSTANT get together. And I'm still feeling out what Bella is like - especially since Mike and Jacob are still technically in the picture. Again, if you aren't interested in Bella being interested in other men/vice versa, then please stop reading here.**

 **Thanks for all the support. It's been great, really! It helps me write. Please, please, please leave a review, it means the world to hear you guys thoughts.**


	8. Chapter 8

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The coffee-maker made a delicate _ding!_ once it was done. And Bella immediately stood up straight, grabbing a hold of one of the mugs in front of her. Once it was filled, she hesitated before placing it down in front of Paul. He looked out of place at the little wooden table in the kitchen, a bit too big for the chair as well. Still, he stared down at the coffee in front of him before his dark eyes flickered back up to Bella.

On instinct, her stomach tightened. Gripping her own warm cup with both hands, she brought it to her mouth. After a sip, she glanced back at him - he was still staring, "Why're you here so early again?"

She hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep yet. And she still had work at four.

 _Ugh. Work._

Bella would probably have to call out. After all, she'd been up all night. She pressed the bottom of her palm against her forehead - _last night_. It wasn't a surprise that she'd gotten pretty drunk fairly quickly ( never having a drop of alcohol in your life and being in a coma for five years can do that to you ) and Mike had took it all in stride. Bella didn't remember much, but she did remember how Erica had kissed her cheek before leaving the club with one of Mike's coworkers. And Mike had wanted to help Bella get home, but plans had changed. Somehow, they ended up at another bar. Bella's tolerance for alcohol was low, but at least she managed to keep everything down. She and Mike talked for hours - dabbling from high school topics to Mike's relationship with Jessica and finally settling on politics. Though, she could very much remember all the laughing and shouting she did - she wasn't sure if Mike was way funnier than she recalled or it was the alcohol.

But it was _fun_. It had been a long time since she had fun with anyone other than Jacob. Like - _real_ , genuine fun where she didn't have to force a smile or laugh. He didn't make her feel as if she were pressured. She was constantly tugged between the Old Bella ( awkward, clumsy, curious ) and New Bella ( fresh from a coma, goes to the hospital once a month for physical therapy, and has a high risk of depression ). He didn't treat her like she was fragile like her friends or family, nor was he careful with his words. She liked to refer him as her own personal warmth - like the sun.

Paul clenched his hand on his thigh, still staring at her, "I wanted to see you." When Bella blinked at him, he blew out a sigh, "And I got work at nine. Your house was on the way."

Even though he tried to make his voice casual, she could hear the edge to it. Still, she swallowed down her coffee, ignoring the way her stomach flipped at his voice, "You're...you're not like a stalker or anything, right?" Charlie had given her some pepper spray, it was in her purse.

Paul looked like he was fighting a smile. "No. Nah. I wouldn't call it that."

"Then what would you call it?"

Almost immediately, his face darkened. His moods were jumping all over the place, really. "Complicated."

"Then _un_ complicate it."

Without warning, he stood. The chair made a loud scraping sound when he did and Bella barely had enough time to register it before he was suddenly closer. The weird shaking thing in his hands that Bella had noticed earlier started again. He inhaled, "I... _can't_."

She found herself staring at his lips. For what reason, she didn't know. Tightening her hands around her cup ( to keep herself from touching him ), she whispered, "Why not?" He had to know she wouldn't just take that as an answer. Being in such close proximity to him had her dragging her eyes down his strong jaw, the thick cords of his neck, and his large shoulders. He was much bigger than her, and rather than frightening her, it gave her an overwhelming sense of comfort.

She could try to blame her racing heart on the kiss from earlier ( well, that wouldn't exactly be a lie ), but his close proximity just made her entire body tense up with anticipation. Bella was so used to being in control that her body's reaction continued to take her off guard time and time again. She narrowly resisted the urge to rub her fingers over her lips, just to make sure this was all real.

She shifted on one foot from the other as he took a step back, blowing out a long breath - a large russet hand moved through his hair. "I'm sorry."

Bella looked up, "For what?"

He raised his brows at her. "The kiss."

"Kiss- _es_."

"Right," his eyebrows fell, merged together. His jaw also clenched tightly, "I...I'm not tryin' to...hurt you." It looked as if he was struggling with finding the right words to say. As if he were trying to be as careful as possible. Bella wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. He stared at her with his dark eyes, flickering them from the clock on the far wall and back to her again. Finally, he muttered, "Another thing, you been around the Cullens lately?"

Bella blinked. For a guy she'd just met, he sure did take it upon himself to nudge his nose into place it didn't belong. Especially when it concerned the people she associated with. "First Mike, and now you're asking about the Cullens?"

His long, thick arms crossed over his chest, his muscles tensing at Mike's name. "We'll talk about _him_ later."

"There's no reason to talk about hi—"

"We're talking about the Cullens right now."

"O-kay, fine." _Jerk_. "What about them?"

His nose wrinkled, as if he smelled something bad. "You've been hanging around one."

"So?"

"So I don't want you to anymore."

An incredulous laugh left her, she almost even rolled her eyes at him. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart-attack."

Bella decided to sit down her coffee before she ended up throwing it on the guy. Just like him, she was switching moods rather quickly. Quicker than she was used to at least. One second she wanted to kiss him and the next, she wanted to shove him out of the house.

"Paul, I don't know if you've ever really had _friends_ _—"_

 _Are they even friends?_

 _That isn't the point._

"—but friends don't tell other friends who they can talk to, show up to their house unannounced at seven in the morning, and especially don't kiss them!"

"Who said we were friends?" Paul's voice was low, it made Bella's insides warm again.

She mustered a scowl, "You're bossy."

"And you're whiny."

"Eat me."

"Maybe I will," he was closer than before - during their small back and forth, he'd taken one large step forward. Her chest brushed against his. Heart in her ears, Bella inhaled as Paul leaned closer to her, warm breath touching her cheek. "I'm serious. Stay away from those leeches."

Bella could only muster another dumbfounded blink in his direction before he was stepping away again. Without a word, he picked up his untouched coffee cup and downed the entire thing in a few gulps. Then glanced at her, "I'll come over later. What time do you get off?"

"...Ten."

"I'll be here around that time then."

"But—"

He leaned down and kissed her. Heat formed from the tip of her fingers and all the way to her toes. Lashes fluttering, Bella looked up at him, lips parted. Paul stared down at her for a few seconds, his rough thumb brushing against her lips and she suddenly was struck with a weird idea to lick it. Luckily, her tongue stayed in her mouth and he released her.

"See you at ten." And the front door closed behind him.

 **.**

 **.**

As Bella waved goodbye to Ms. Leslie, she stepped down from the bus, quickly tying her hair into a high ponytail. As soon as she walked into Fairmont Pub&Diner, Beatrice was yelling at her, "You're late!" The place was packed and _loud_. A few truckers were downing drinks quickly - even though it was a little past four. A couple families with just a few too many kids were also taking up some booths. Bikers were littered towards the back, and two of them looked dangerously close to either arm wrestling or all-out fighting.

Bella quickly rounded the counter, grabbing her small black apron and wrapping it around her hips. A notepad was pretty much shoved in her chest by Beatrice and Bella offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Beatrice. Overslept."

"Huh. Looks like you and Erica rehearsed lines today."

"Oh, shut up," Erica grumbled, setting down a few dirty dishes on the bar. "I'm _very_ hungover today. Not in the mood." Even though she claimed she was hungover, the blonde looked far from it. Her hair was curled in tight ringlets, falling down her back and her makeup was perfect as usual. When she saw Bella staring, she raised a brow, "See somethin' you like?"

If she remembered correctly, Erica had left with one of Mike's friends the night before. She kind of felt like a bad friend for not contacting her earlier. Bella pursed her lips, "How did last night go?"

"Good," Erica shrugged, "His pockets might've been packed, but he sure wasn't."

"Oh, gross, Erica!"

Erica grinned, wiggling out one of her pinkies, "And he was married."

" _Married_?"

She must've looked pretty shocked since Erica laughed, moving past her with the dishes, "Yep. Newsflash, most guys are assholes." Bella couldn't help but follow her co-worker to the back, much to Beatrice's exasperation. "What about you?"

Bella glanced at Erica, blinking once, "Hm?"

"The guy, Mike."

"Oh, so you remember his name, but not Jacob's."

Erica waved a dismissive hand, "Mike invited me out and bought me drinks. Much more important." As she sat down the dishes, she turned towards the brunette once again, "So, how did it go? You guys do anything fun?" She seemed pretty interested.

Bella couldn't help but gnaw on her bottom lip. The details were fuzzy, but she was pretty sure she hadn't done anything as interesting as Erica had. "We...had a race."

Erica stared at her for a long time before squinting, " _What_."

"A race. We raced each other."

"Okay. Why."

Looked like her story needed some explaining. It'd been around three in the morning when Mike and her had left the club downtown. For a few miles, they'd just driven around until Mike offered to let her drive for awhile. Luckily, Bella was much more steady when it came to driving rather than walking ( she was the Chief's daughter and there she was drunk and driving, _go figure_ ) and they had ended up on the other side of town, at the waterfront. Mike had been the one to offer racing down the beach, and Bella had been too drunk and carefree to worry about tripping over her own feet. She was sure the only reason she won in the first place was because of the physical therapy and jogging she did nearly every morning. Either way, they had talked and walked and drove for hours before she got home.

"It was fun, okay?"

Erica was making a face at her, "You were with him for four hours and all you guys did was _talk_."

"He's a friend, Erica."

"Uh-huh, _sure_ ," She moved past Bella, leaving the dishes at the sink for the busboy to take care of. Bella waited until she was out of sight to press her hands against her eyes, a frustrated sigh leaving her. Anxiety was eating at her and she couldn't exactly pinpoint why, and just talking about her time with Mike made her feel shitty all over again.

Without much inclination, she couldn't help but think - _is it because of Paul?_

Why exactly did her thoughts keep circling back to Paul? What did Paul have to do with anything? It irritated her more than she'd like to admit. It was like an overwhelming force was pushing her towards Paul more and more with each passing hour - everything was starting to remind her of him. Bella shoved herself off the wall, blew out a long sigh, and finally headed back towards the front to give Beatrice some much needed help.

The next couple hours passed in a blur. Bella was more or less on autopilot when it came to mundane things like this. Take orders, smile, clean off tables, wash dishes - rinse and repeat. The diner was pretty empty by time it hit eight, and Bella debated whether or not she should take her break before another rush came through. Right when she was untying her apron, Micah spoke up from behind the bar.

"Anybody seen Penny today?"

Bella looked up, turning to him, "Penny?"

"Fucking bitch," groused Erica, picking up a few dirty napkins off the floor, "she was supposed to come in today. No wonder we were running around."

"Like chickens with our heads cut off," Beatrice obviously agreed.

The skin between Bella's delicate eyebrows wrinkled, "She didn't come in today? She's been out all week."

Erica shrugged her shoulders, finishing plucking up the miscellaneous trash, "Lenn should just go ahead and fire her already." Of course, Erica and Penny had had their share of blow-outs from time to time. Neither of them seemed to last for long when in the same room together. Bella could only guess it was because they both had pretty strong personalities. Beatrice and Valerie preferred to just call them _bitchy_. Penny liked to "quit" every now and then whenever things didn't go her way, but she always seemed to find her way back in time for payday.

As Beatrice and Erica headed towards the back to get the dishes together, Bella turned back to Micah. He eyed her, "You look worried."

"That's because I am," Bella mumbled, musing over it for a few seconds, "Didn't you say her boyfriend just got out on bail?"

Micah nodded slowly, "Yeah. The big guy - Dex. His brothers were in here just talking about him a couple hours ago."

Bella's frown deepened, her eyes flickering from Micah and to the door. Finally, she pulled out her cell-phone, "I'll be right back."

"Hurry up before Lenn sees ya'!" Micah called behind her. Bella quickly headed outside, towards the back. She ignored the smell of the rancid dumpster next to her, stepping a few feet away. Penny was in her phone, fortunately - the girl liked to trade off shifts a lot and Bella was usually her go-to.

The phone rang around four times before someone answered. It was Penny. "H-Hello?"

Bella grimaced again - Penny's voice was extremely quiet. She could barely hear her. "Hey, Penny. I was just wondering if you're coming in today. Or...at all."

"Bella...? Hey..." There was a distant crash in the background, and Bella heard the small, frightened gasp Penny released before she brought the phone back to her mouth, "I-I don't think I'll...be able to come in..."

The brunette swallowed, shifting on her feet now. Something didn't feel right. "Why not? Do you want me to tell Lenny to change the schedule again? Are you sick?"

"No..."

"Then—"

" _Where the fuck are you, bitch?!_ "

Bella jumped, and she was sure Penny did too. With sweaty hands, she clutched her cell to her face, "Penny? Penny, what's going on? Is that Dex?"

It was quiet for a long time. Finally, there was a whimper on the other line, and Bella's shoulders tensed up. "He's...he's mad at me again...he _hit_ me, Bells." The raw fear in her voice was enough to make Bella's eyes water - she bit her tongue. "I-I don't know what to do...! He might kill me or something and...and Jenma...Jenma is still in the house...!"

Jenma. Penny's four-year-old daughter. Bella had seen her a handful of times when she came into the diner - when Penny couldn't find anyone to watch her. She could taste blood in her mouth now from how hard she was biting at her tongue. "Okay..." She took a deep breath and swallowed again, "Okay...okay, just - just stay put, okay, Penny? I'm gonna come over and get you. I'll be right there, alright?"

"No!" Penny's voice was loud enough to elicit another crash in the other room from Dex. He was getting closer. It made Bella's heart pick up, thudding away in her ears. "No, please...please, it'll make him even more mad..."

"Are you - Are you serious, Penny? _Holy crow_ , you just said he might kill you—"

"I _know_ I can calm him down, I just—"

"No. No, Penny. I'm coming over. Please. Just stay where you are."

"But, Bella—"

 _Dial tone._

 **.**

 **.**

It was a good thing that Penny lived so close by. The main reason she took the job was because she lived right around the corner. It wasn't long before Bella was turning onto her street, jogging lightly once the two-story townhouse came into view. When she made it to the mailbox, she was barely out of breath, moving completely on adrenaline by that point. Just the grunts and yelling and stomping from inside was enough to make her stomach twist. Going through the front door would just alert Dex of her presence, so Bella found a window that was still propped open. Once she pulled herself inside, she immediately knew she was in Jenma's room.

"Jenma...?"

"Down here." Bella almost jumped when she heard the small whisper from beneath the bed. Hurriedly, she crouched down onto all fours and saw the redheaded four-year-old curiously peering out at her with dark eyes. She didn't look that frightened or worried, just curiously staring at Bella. "What're you doing here?"

Bella tried to give her a smile, but it probably came out more as a grimace, "I'm here to see your mom. You know where she is?"

Jenma shrugged her little shoulders - or shrugged as much as she could from beneath the bed. "Maybe in her room. Daddy's been yelling a lot."

Bella could hear him stomping around like a giant in the living room. "Yeah, I bet." She glanced towards the door and then back to the girl, "Hey, do me a favor?" When Jenma nodded, Bella murmured, "Stay here until me and your mom come back to get you. Or at least until we call your name, okay, sweetie?"

Bella wasn't that great with kids. She knew that. And she probably was even worse under pressure, but Jenma merely smiled and nodded at her like a bobble head. Certain that the girl would stay there, Bella moved on, slowly making her way to the door and pulling it open. Fortunately, Dex was making his way to the kitchen and muttering under his breath, so all Bella saw was his large back disappear into the next room.

 _Now or never._

She moved quickly down the small hallway. The first door on the right was the bathroom. However, the door at the end of the hall ended up being the master bedroom. Bella closed the door behind her, mindful of keeping her steps light. Just as she did Jenma, she whispered, "Penny? You in here?"

There was a beat of silence. And then the closet door slowly creaked out.

Bella couldn't stop her gasp, clasping a hand over her mouth to keep in any other sound she might make. The entire right side of Penny's face was covered in deep purple bruises. Fingerprint shaped bruises were also decorated up and down both her arms - lip busted, nose covered in dried blood, and entire face pink from crying. Bella's eyes started stinging again, "Y...You okay?"

Penny cracked a small, half-hearted smile, even though Bella was sure just doing that hurt. "Yeah..." A pause there, "I can't believe you came."

Bella almost snorted, but her voice was thick when she replied, "Me neither."

"I'm sort of a bitch to you sometimes."

"Tell me about it."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Bella let out a shaky breath. She moved over to Penny quickly and quietly, holding out her hands to help her up. "C'mon. We have to get out of here." Penny stood with obvious difficulty, wobbling on her legs and sniffling. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so."

As soon as Bella managed to get her over to the door, it was suddenly thrown open. Penny screamed - it was awfully close to Bella's ear, making her heart jump into her throat. Dex was bigger than the last time she'd seen him ( she supposed being in jail for a few months could do that to you ). And, _boy_ , did he look angry. The muscles in his arms and neck were jumping like crazy, splotches of red all over his throat and face.

"What the fuck're you doin' in my house?" He growled the words towards Bella, making his way towards her with loud, purposeful steps. Bella reeled back out of instinct, but his arm shot out and shoved her anyway, right into the wall. It more than likely didn't have all his strength in it, but Bella hit the wall pretty hard. Her back was already on fire from the sharp sting and her legs gave out - fear deep in her stomach and clogging her airways.

She'd never really been pushed around by a man before. Never really been touched by one either - at least, not in this manner.

Penny tried to rush him from what Bella could tell, but he was quicker and stronger, grabbing her by the neck and flinging her nearly across the room. She landed on the side of the bed, gasping and whimpering, "You fucking... _you fucking asshole_!"

Dex merely grunted in her direction, heading towards her now. Bella lifted herself up to her knees, ignoring the pain in her back, grasping onto the end table to try and stand. When she focused, she could see the couple arguing, wrestling back and forth. Dex had a hold of her wrists, and she spit right in his face to try and make him let go.

"I'll make sure you never see Jenma again, you piece of shit!"

That seemed to get a reaction out of Dex. He suddenly yanked at her wrists fiercely, then slammed her right into the headboard of the bed. Bella winced, eyes wide and hands sweaty. "You are _not_ taking my daughter away from me!" Before he could do anymore damage, Bella rushed to help her coworker, using all her strength to shove at his meaty shoulder.

"Leave her alone! _Stop it_!"

Bella heard the slap before she felt it. The sudden lace of pain on the left side of her face made her shrink in on herself, eyes instinctively watering. A ragged breath escaped her as Dex left the room, tearing and knocking down everything in his path. He was headed straight to Jenma's room, and Bella once again reacted without thinking. She hurried after him, grabbing onto his arm. "Don't touch her! I'll call the—"

The air was completely taken out of her when he turned and pushed his fist into her gut. He was much stronger than she'd intended. Bella crumbled to the floor, arms wrapping around her stomach and bile rising up her throat at the force of the blow.

" _You're not taking my fucking kid away from me!_ "

" _Stop it, stop it, Dex! Leave her alone! I fucking hate you!_ "

Their screams sounded oddly distant for a long time. Or, it felt like a long time in Bella's mind. When she came to, she could see Dex and Penny screaming in each other's faces again. Bella meant to stand, but all she could manage was a crawl, gripping desperately at the wall and trying to find leverage to help her move faster. Honestly, she'd never hated a person more than she did at this moment.

How Penny could even stand being in the same house with him time and time again, Bella would never know. She managed to slip past the two, even though their yelling was making her head ring. She could see Jenma had come out of her hiding place, now sitting against the front door, faced buried in her knees. Bella couldn't blame her.

When she caught sight of the vase on the end table by the couch, she had somehow gotten to her feet at that point. Her stomach still felt like it'd been punched through and bile was still in her throat, but she grabbed a hold of the vase. She wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline-charged air or just that she'd had enough already, but the vase ended up smashed over Dex's large head.

There was the sharp sound of glass breaking. The screaming cut off. Three seconds later, Dex stumbled into the wall before falling into it completely, limp.

Penny stood there, trembling and garbling. Her face was ashen, tears on her cheeks. Her red hair was a mess on her head. "B-Bella—"

"Let's go." There were absolutely no time for talking. A guy that big never stayed down. Penny was quick to gather up her daughter, and Jenma immediately clung to her, legs and arms like a monkey. Penny looked as if she wanted to sprint across the lawn, but they both stopped short when they saw someone standing on the other side of the door, hand lifted as if they were about to knock.

Bella stared, blinked. "Alice?"

The girl's beautiful features were twisted into worry, eyes large on her face, "Bella! Oh, god, Bella!"

Without warning, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around the brunette. Her arms were so cold that Bella almost shivered. For such a small girl, her grip was unyielding and way too tight. Bella gasped out a pained breath - her stomach suddenly inflamed from the punch earlier. Alice quickly let her go, "Oh! I'm sorry, Bella—"

"What're you doing he—"

"I-I don't have time for this!" Penny was still frantic, hurrying to shove past Alice and Bella to get to the other side of the lawn, still holding Jenma to her. Alice didn't even look at her once.

"Are you okay, Bella? Do you need a doctor? Should I call Carlisle?"

Bella was much too disoriented and sore to listen to Alice's high, melodious voice, "No. No, I'm fine." _Please, no doctors_. "We have to go—"

"Everything alright?" Somehow, Bella had failed to notice that another person was with Alice. She stiffened, almost jumping out of her skin when the tall blond came from seemingly nowhere. Rosalie's brother - the Hale. He was much taller than Alice, his hands tucked within his pockets. For some reason, even though he came off so casual, Bella couldn't see herself feeling safe around him at all. Her skin was already starting to itch - luckily, the pain from her stomach was enough to distract her from thinking too hard.

When Bella glanced back towards Alice, she was surprised to see the smaller girl staring directly at her, eyes wide and blank. All of this was just starting to creep her out, really. Before she could divert her attention back to Penny, however, Alice suddenly blinked and looked towards the Hale brother, "Yes, everything is fine, Jasper. Can you go and help Penny into the car?"

 _How did she—_

Jasper moved just as gracefully as the rest of his family, silent and quick. Penny had been sniffling and babbling for the last couple minutes, but her thin shoulders seemed to relax as soon as Jasper got close. Bella stared, watching closely. She took a small glimpse at Alice, only to see Alice's narrowed, golden eyes directed in a direction over her shoulder, into the townhouse where Penny and her had just emerged from.

Her face was blank, but Bella didn't miss the way her lips twitched, perfect white teeth almost exposed at the action. To Bella, she looked even more dangerous than Dex had a few minutes ago. Finally, she placed a hand on Bella's shoulder, giving her a tight-lipped smile, "Let's get you home."

"But—"

"Don't worry. The police have already been called."

 _Seriously, how did she—_

Bella didn't even have enough time to finish her thought before she was quickly tugged in the direction of the expensive-out-of-place-looking Porsche in the driveway.

 **.**

 **.**

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to see Carlisle?"

"Alice, I think you've asked enough."

"Twelfth time's the charm."

Bella watched as the two in the front shared a knowing smile towards one another. It was pretty obvious that they were rather close - Alice drove with one hand and allowed the other to rest on Jasper's knee. Bella wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with her at that point - for the entire two hours she'd been in their presence, every time she had a new rush of anxiety, a lulling blanket of peace would make its way over to her. Sometimes, it felt so strong that her eyelids would get heavy.

Speaking to the officers had been a wild ride. Even though Penny was covered in bruises head-to-toe, they still needed every detail. To everything. Like Bella and Penny and Jenma weren't telling the truth. As if their fear-stricken faces weren't enough. Dex was arrested in the end, and Penny and Jenma were taken to the police station. Penny and her daughter had given all of them a hug - Alice, Jasper, a police officer, and Bella.

Bella's had been the longest and tightest. She didn't even have the heart to complain about her ribs.

The EMTS had said her ribs might've been bruised. She would have to go to the hospital to get some prescription for the painkillers she would need. Her cheek was also throbbing. Oddly enough, Jasper and Alice stayed by her side the entire time. Even though Jasper stayed off to the side, Bella could feel his probing gaze digging into her head. Alice stayed next to her, sometimes using a cool, thin hand to rub it over Bella's arm in comfort.

Bella was surprised she hadn't broken down in tears yet. On her part, she could admit the entire plan was a little stupid. She should've brought Micah or any of the girls. But instead, she'd rushed out alone. Charlie wouldn't be happy, she already knew that. He'd already come close to losing her once.

Bella was broken from her thoughts when the car came to an abrupt stop. Jasper suddenly reached back and planted his hand on Bella's shoulder, keeping her from knocking her forehead on the back of Alice's seat. He flashed his white teeth at her, "Told you to wear a seatbelt."

Bella opened her mouth, but Alice beat her to it.

"Oh, _gross_."

Bella blinked at Alice's exclamation. Jasper even released a small grunting sound, letting go of Bella's shoulder quickly.

It was so dark outside, Bella had trouble seeing what the two were so angry about - glaring out the tinted windows, perfect noses wrinkled. "What? What's wrong?"

Alice let out an aggravated sigh, "Bella, dogs are not good company to keep."

"What're you—..." The brunette trailed off there as soon as she caught sight of the large figure making its way to the car. She swallowed thickly, "What time is it?"

Jasper didn't even glance at the clock, "Fifteen past eleven."

 _See you at ten,_ Paul had said.

"Shit."

 _If looks could kill_ , that's all she could think as Paul stopped at the car and wrenched open the door with far more force than necessary.

Bella had a feeling her night was far from over.

 **.**

 **.**

 **Wild ride with this chapter, I hoped you guys liked it. Sorry if it's a little rush, I was rushing to get this chapter out since I'm going to be swamped with some stuff for the next couple weeks. I will work extra hard to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.**

 **I know I said there weren't going to be a lot of vampires in this story, and there won't, but the story can't really develop how I want it to without them ( for now, at least ). Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you liked this chapter, really. Please don't forget to leave a review, they always make me smile to hear your thoughts and make the chapters come out faster, believe me on that!**


	9. Chapter 9

**.**

 **.**

Things after that were pretty much a blur. One second, Bella was trying to get out of the car and calm Paul down, and the next, one large hand wrapped around her upper arm and yanked her right out of her seat. Much too roughly and quick for her to process, "Paul!" There was clear surprise and complaint in her voice as Bella tried to right her footing. Her free hand pressed against his chest - right under his heart, where she could feel it racing underneath her palm. The wild, almost animalistic look in his eye made her stare. "Paul," she murmured, softer this time, "Calm down–"

"I told you to stay away from them! I told you!" His voice was filled with venom, so much anger that she couldn't help but flinch a bit.

"Paul, was it?" Bella almost jumped again when she heard Alice's melodical voice much more closer than she thought she'd be. At some point - Bella wasn't sure when - Alice and Jasper had gotten out of the car as well. Jasper was still on the other side of the vehicle, hands tucked within his pockets to keep a calm front. Alice stood beside Bella, slowly reaching up - almost careful as she moved - and placed it upon Bella's shoulder. "You're going to hurt her."

Paul's upper lip pulled back, baring his teeth aggressively, "Don't. Touch. Her."

Alice only offered a stunning smile right back, white teeth glinting in the dark, "Now, now. Let's all just stay calm."

Bella had little to no understanding of what was exactly happening between the two. Alice wasn't even half of Paul's size, but she didn't look even a little intimidated. And Jasper had made no move to try and defend her either - even with Paul looking as if he'd attack her without any hesitation. A loud, startling growl was beginning to make it up his throat, his dark eyes glinting. Without warning, Bella felt a large spill of tranquility descend upon her, her eyelids suddenly felt much too heavy to keep open and her balance slipped.

Paul seemed to grow even angrier at that, eyes flickering over to Bella for a quick second before they landed accusingly on Jasper, who still stood a few feet away, "You fucking bloodsucker! Try that again! I fucking dare you!" The weird shaking thing Bella'd seen him do earlier was beginning to happen again, his shoulders shook, hand clenched tight around her upper arm, his teeth grinding together.

Bella made a quick move to try and grab onto him again, what she was trying to accomplish, she wasn't sure. Especially with Paul being so large and solid. But before she could, cold hands wrapped around her shoulders, ripping her away from Paul's grip. Bella's head was spinning, and by time she realized what happened, she was on the other side of the yard all of a sudden. "Wha–"

Alice was beside her again, strength overwhelming as she kept Bella from struggling, "You need to stay away from him."

"What're you..."

" _I told you not to touch her!_ " Bella's head snapped up, eyes landing on Paul. Or what used to be Paul. He was hunched over on all fours, shoulders and back rising and falling with such intensity, she worried if he was having an anxiety attack or anything. His back caved in, spine making a loud cracking noise before he was suddenly gone.

And in his place–

Bella felt panic rise in her throat, large eyes eating up at her face as she stared. A wolf. A silver wolf. As large as a horse. Sharp canines bared, a thin sliver of drool dripping from its muzzle. It growled, claws digging into the ground under it. The soil and grass seemed to melt underneath the raw power and strength, and the wolf lowered its large head, wrinkling the skin of its mouth and nose. Bella was unable to move, heart within her throat, nerves flaring along at the edges as the wolf suddenly took off in their direction.

There was a blur of movement. And without warning, it slammed into the side of the wolf. Sending both whatever hit it and the wolf spiralling into the woods with flailing limbs, snapping teeth, and growls. Bella could vaguely remember Alice trying to call her name, tight fingers shaking her shoulders to try and get a reaction. Bella couldn't even move, eyes still glued to the group of trees that had been knocked down from the collision, the sounds of growls and snapping teeth fading.

Jasper was gone. _Was he the thing that hit it–_

There were a million questions on the tip of Bella's tongue. And just from one look at Alice's face, she knew she wasn't going to answer them.

 **.**

 **.**

"Bella?"

The brunette glanced up, hands fiddling within her lap. "Hm?"

Dr. Frentia, her therapist, just stared at her. Raised one perfect blonde eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

Bella stayed quiet. The skin between her eyebrows wrinkled. Was she alright? Sometimes, she didn't understand why people asked that question when it was overwhelmingly apparent that she wasn't alright. A lot of people said her expressions were like an open book. Especially Dr. Frentia. Bella only had to see her a couple times a month, just to make sure she wasn't experiencing any negative thoughts, depression, or anxiety. Things had been going smoothly so far and soon, Bella wouldn't have to keep meeting with her if things continued to look up.

Licking her lips, Bella looked away, towards the window. Then back to Dr. Frentia. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just...thinking."

The woman wrote something down in her notepad, nodding a bit, "What're you thinking about?"

Bella almost opened her mouth and replied. But she didn't. What was she supposed to say? Not only was she far too nervous, she was also exhausted. For the last two days, she hadn't been able to get much sleep. Charlie expressed his worry a couple times, especially when Bella seemed so distracted. She'd spent the last couple days doing a bit of research. Alice hadn't been much help when she'd left Bella at home, waving off the entire thing as if it was nothing to worry about. Talking as if Bella had been seeing things. If Bella had been a bit more gullible, she was certain she would've listened to anything Alice had said and believed it - her golden eyes were so bewitching, her soft, musical voice was way too convincing for Bella's own good.

She wanted to believe her. She wanted it all to be a dream. But there was no denying what she saw. Alice could twist and turn the story however she wished, but it had all happened directly in front of Bella. There was no changing that. Bella couldn't exactly just spew out her theories and thoughts on the matter, Dr. Frentia would probably think she was crazy. Or worse, call Dr. Carlisle. And for some reason, a chill creeped up her spine at the thought - his golden eyes, his soft voice, his cold touch. He was just like Alice.

Just like her entire family. She wouldn't be able to trust them as far as she could throw them.

Dr. Frentia stared at her from across the coffee table. Oh, right. She was waiting for an answer.

"Just..." Bella made a vague gesture with her hands and gave a half-hearted smile, "thinking about how weird this town is."

This time, the blonde across from her laughed. She also wrote something else down in her notepad. "Tell me about it." As soon as her eyes were off of Bella, the smile on the brunette's face fell. When the session was over, Dr. Frentia gave her a small, polite pat on the shoulder and led her out - reminding her to keep up with her daily exercising and checking to see how Charlie was. Bella could tell that Dr. Frentia could tell she was distracted, but she didn't push it too much. Once she was outside and out of Dr. Frentia's view she pulled out her cell phone, scrolling down and finding the Safari app still open. Bella tapped her thumb on the page, frowning lightly.

The Quileute Tribe.

 _Scroll._

The legends.

 _Scroll._

Shape-shifters.

 _Scroll._

Treaty. The _Cold Ones._

"There you are."

Bella couldn't help but jump once she heard the deep, familiar voice behind her. Whirling around, she caught sight of Jacob, pushing himself off the side of the building's wall. He was dressed in a black shirt that was tight against his muscles and chest, and dark jeans. Bella immediately tucked her phone in the back of her jeans pocket. "Jacob."

Jacob, though, didn't look as if he was in the mood to beat around the bush. "I need to talk to you."

Bella swallowed. His dark eyes were locked on hers, "...About what?"

His eyes narrowed, as if to say _don't play dumb_. "You know what." His long arms crossed over his chest, expression stiff. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he stubbornly pressed his lips together, gaze flickering over every inch of her face. "You know what it is, Bells."

Bella was unable to get anything out, hands tucked deep in her pockets. Rocking back and forth on her heels, she tried to swallow down her heart - it'd been stuck in her throat for days now. "...You can't talk about it," Jake's dark eyebrows lifted, surprise flitting across his face for a second. "I know." She'd done more than enough research on it. She licked at her bottom lip, resisting the urge to blurt out too much in front of him.

Jacob eyed her for a few more seconds, keeping silent. "You're taking this much better than I thought you would."

Bella released a incredulous laugh, copying his pose and crossing her arms over her chest, "I'm kind of just in a state of shock right now." She wasn't exactly sure how she was supposed to take it. Her friend - her best friend was a shapeshifter, wolf, whatever he wanted to call himself. Paul was one too, so she was guessing the boy they both hung out with were ones too. How far did the bloodline flow exactly? Bella could vaguely remember one time at the hospital when Jake had talked about a few of those rumors, he used to think they were just myths his crazy dad kept spewing all the time. "I haven't been able to...really sleep." And when she was able to catch some shut eye, she had dreams about the mammoth-sized silver wolf.

"Neither has Paul." Bella tensed at the name. Jacob didn't miss it. He blew out a sigh, one hand lifting and pushing back a few inky strands from his forehead. "I know...I know things are crazy right now. I know that, okay?" He was trying to reason with her, Bella could only give a sarcastic smile, moving past him without a glance back, "Bella! Listen to me–"

"Is that why you left in the beginning? The whole superstitions thing your dad kept spouting? Is that why you couldn't be my friend? Why you couldn't come see me in the hospital for _years_ , Jake?" Her voice was getting louder, her hands moving around wildly at that point. Jacob's expression looked agonized, hands clenched by his sides. His forehead was wrinkled in effort. Finally, he exhaled. Bella stared, "You can't keep leaving me in the dark. I'm so sick of everyone treating me like I'm made of glass!"

"It wasn't my secret to tell, Bella. You know that."

"We're still friends, Jacob. My best friend!" She was close to throwing a temper tantrum, she was already aware of that. The frustration deep in her stomach was brimming upwards, the shock and fear was definitely still there as well.

"It was frustrating. I wasn't going to try and make you solve riddles, Bella. And it's not like I had a choice in the matter. Becoming a shapeshifter wasn't exactly on the top of my list!" He narrowed his eyes at Bella, jaw clenched tight. It looked as if he was holding back to say more, but instead, switched the topic, "I need you to come down to the reservation."

Bella blew out another laugh, moving away from him again. The exhaustion was already creeping over her, not only physically. Mentally and emotionally as well. She honestly couldn't care less if they were werewolves, he was still Jacob. It was just like the entire thing was starting to wear down on her - and the yanking that'd started within her chest wasn't helping either, like an invisible string that was trying to pull her in a different direction. Stubbornly, she continued to walk away from Jacob, "I've got to work later."

"So blow it off," Jacob's legs were much more longer than hers. He swallowed up the distance between them without any problem, catching up with her and stopping her from moving any further, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I know you probably don't like it–"

"What?" Bella's forehead creased. "It's not that I don't _like_ it, Jake. I don't care that you turn into a giant wolf–"

The tense expression upon his face suddenly changed. It relaxed and a smile broke across his face. Like the sun breaking through the clouds. "So, you really don't care if we all turn into huge dogs? _Really_?" His hand was on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly and affectionately.

Bella looked up at him, "No. I don't care, Jake–" She was suddenly cut off when she was pulled forward into Jacob's chest. His too-warm hands rubbed across her back, a couple fingers knitting into the curls of her hair. "Jake, can't breathe!" His grip was way too tight and Bella gasped into his shoulder. As soon as he let her go, Bella grimaced. She was still a bit too sore from the little adventure she'd had at Penny's house a couple days ago. Even Dr. Frentia had asked about it - of course she would know already, this town being so small and having nothing better to do.

There was relief on his face. "Sam was worried that–" He stopped there, shaking his head. The smile was still there, eyes alight. "I thought you'd...you'd be real mad or something."

"I _am_ mad." Bella replied sourly, rubbing one hand over her sore shoulder. "It's not like it was really my business. It's sort of just Best Friend Code to say something."

"Best Friend Code, huh?" Jacob chuckled a bit too darkly for her liking, "I...couldn't really tell you. Not 'cause I didn't want to, Bells. Sam is the pack leader. If he tells us not to do something, we have to listen, you know. We can't just ignore him. It's a wolf thing." When Bella remained silent, he continued, "Will you come down to the reservation with me? _Please_." He was staring at her beseechingly, both hands on her shoulders. Bella could only stare up at him, her mouth twisting into a deeper frown. "Paul wanted to be the one to explain all this to you anyway."

"Why would _Paul_ want to talk to me about it?" Half the time, it seemed as if he didn't even like being around her.

Jacob went back to staring at her, that knowing look that made Bella uncomfortable. "You know why."

 **.**

 **.**

"I know, Erica. I'm sorry. I promise I'll take a shift for you next week, whenever you want." Bella mumbled in the phone. That didn't stop Erica, however, she went into another spill about how Bella was this and that. Obviously, she wasn't in the mood to take over Bella's tables today. "I'm sorry. Seriously. I won't do it again. This is an emergency." It took another two or three minutes to calm down Erica ( that girl really did have a mouth on her ) before Bella could hang up the phone.

Jacob looked a bit amused. "Everything good?"

"No," Bella rubbed at her temples, tucking her phone away as Jacob stopped the truck in front of his small home. Once he was out, he went around to Bella's side to help her down. While he did have his motorcycles, he very much was aware Bella liked to be safe and sound in a truck, rather than riding on the back of that damn death-machine he called a bike. It was relatively quiet on the reservation, Bella followed Jacob towards the beach, his steps quick and purposeful. On the way there, they passed by Embry, who was leaning against the side of Emily's home, perking up when he caught sight of Jacob.

"Hey, Jacob–" Surprise flitted across his face when he saw Bella, though. And then a smile. "Good. You brought her." He nudged his head in the direction of the beach, the waves subtly hitting the shore every few seconds, "Paul's down there. He's been in a mood ever since Sam ripped into him."

Jacob rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "He got into another fight with Sam?"

Embry looked amused, "You could call it that. Happened so fast Sam ripped up his shoes. Emily's pissed too since she just bought 'em."

That made Jacob blow out a sigh, dragging one large hand down his face. He glanced towards Bella once, same persisting look on his face. "Can you...?" He left the sentence open, obviously giving Bella a chance to reject the offer. When she stiffly nodded, Embry perked up from beside Jacob. He kept going, "Me and Embry's gonna stay over here, okay? We'll know if anything happens."

Bella wanted to ask what they could possibly think would happen, but kept her mouth shut. Jacob stayed behind as she crossed the beach, a strong breeze spiralling her hair over her face and shoulder. When she tucked a thick strand behind her ear, Bella could already spot Paul. He was near the water, shirtless and dressed in a pair of knee-length gym shorts. With his back to her, Bella stopped a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest and hands rubbing at her upper arms. Paul ran on a high temperature than her so he probably didn't notice the prickly cold.

As soon as she stopped a couple feet away, Paul lifted his head and turned slightly. Once he caught sight of Bella, the tense jump in his shoulders relaxed, the furrow of his brow smoothing out, "...Hey."

"Hey." It was quiet between them, besides the sound of the waves and the strong breeze. Since Paul didn't seem like he was up for much talking, the brunette raised her eyebrows inquisitively, "So you're a werewolf."

Paul scoffed out a laugh, "Shapeshifter."

"Same thing, right?"

He shook his head, a rueful smile on his face, "Nah. Big difference."

"Right. Sorry. Didn't mean to offend you."

This time, he really did laugh. It was loud, almost as loud as the crashing waves. Bella felt her lips twitch, something fluttering within her stomach just from the sound of his voice. The tugging in her chest earlier was now almost nonexistent. His gaze was warmer when he looked at her again, watching her for a few seconds before he said, "Wanna talk?"

"I know from experience you're not that great at that."

"Don't remind me," his smile was teasing this time.

Bella inhaled, taking in the smell of the sea around them. "...Yeah. Okay. Let's talk, Paul."

 **.**

 **.**

 **Hi, guys! Finally an update, right? Sorry, I've been super busy! Thanks for all the support and reviews. Please leave more, they help with cranking out chapters faster. I think this was more of a filler chapter? Not sure, it doesn't feel like one. But it's also to get the ball rolling now. Next chapter, more Paul and Bella, they finally get to talk, and a some more explanations.**

 **Please leave a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**.**

 **.**

It was silent between them. Bella didn't say anything, Paul didn't say anything. Finally, she lifted a hand and pushed the hair away from her face, ignoring the feel of Paul staring a hole into the side of her face. Once she glanced over at him, he looked back towards the sea, hands hanging limply between his legs. "...We're supposed to be talking, Paul," her voice held a hint of exasperation.

His jaw visibly locked. "I know. I'm tryin' to think of a good way to word all this."

"Why don't you just wing it?" Bella felt a sardonic smile tugging at the edges of her lips, "Like you've been doing for awhile now."

Paul grumbled something under his breath, hands flexing into fists between his legs. When he finally looked back at her, his eyes were even darker than before. "I'm a shapeshifter."

"Got that."

"I'm guessing you did your research then."

"You guessed right," The frosty bite of the wind was throwing her hair everywhere, making her skin itch. Paul went back to staring at her, his dark eyes narrowed. He looked as if he was gauging her reaction, Bella made sure her face was as open as possible, slim eyebrows raising at him, lips turned down. "Jake wanted me to talk to you." She paused there, crossing her arms tighter over her chest, "Embry said something about you fighting Sam."

Paul scoffed at that - he looked annoyed, "Sam fucking started it."

Bella couldn't help but eye him curiously, gaze trailing down the thick muscles that clenched in his arms, "...Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?" His tone sounded agitated.

"The...the thing," she made a vague gesture with her hands, he looked at her, "When you...change."

Paul watched her for a couple seconds. She wondered if maybe it was the wrong question to ask, ready to backtrack on her words when he spoke again, "No. It doesn't hurt. More of, I'm more used to changin' than staying like this for a long time. You get kinda...itchy when you don't change for a long time. Sam thinks it's instincts."

"Thinks?"

Paul shrugged a shoulder, "We're all new to this. Sam...is the pack leader. We follow what he says," Bella gave a small nod - Jacob had said something similar earlier, "He changed before the rest of us, the first one. We thought we had it tough when it all started, but...Sam was the one who knew next to nothing. Can't even imagine," He shook his head, his eyes were unfocused as if he was remembering something. Bella decided to keep quiet. "When it first started, felt sick. Had a bad fever. Back then, Sam had been watching me like a fucking hawk. Freaked me out. But he was the one who helped me when it happened. I was scared shitless."

Bella pressed her lips together. She couldn't stop thinking of the huge silver wolf in front of her. Paul was staring at her again, watching her reaction so Bella opened her mouth, "Sounds like a stand-up guy."

"He's an asshole. But he's helped me a lot," He was still looking at her, and Bella wringed her hands together, nerves fraying at the edges. "...What is it?"

"The other night," Bella murmured, keeping her eyes down, "You... _fought_ Jasper, right?"

Paul's expression almost immediately darkened, his lips pressed together. His eyes narrowed, even his hands were doing that weird shaking thing from before. He balled them into tight fists when she began to stare. "You mean that leech I told you to stay away from? _He_ attacked _me_. Which is a violation of the treaty." He gave a sarcastic smile that was as sharp as a knife, shaking his head once, "Sam is turning into such a pussy..."

Bella couldn't help but blink at that, "The treaty," She'd read a bit about that. It wasn't hard to come across when she was scrolling through the Quileute Tribe legends. "The Cold Ones..." A chill went up her spine at just the thought, "Then they're—"

"Bloodsuckers. Leeches. _Dead_." Paul's voice was venomous by that point, the shaking moved up his arms. "They stink. Everything about 'em is supposed to draw you in. Don't trust anything those _things_ say."

Bella kept quiet. There wasn't much that she could get out anyway, her heart was already within her throat, goosebumps were rising on her arms. The thin hairs on the back of her neck was even standing up. _Vampires_. The Cullens were vampires. They were heartbreakingly beautiful, wide - ominous golden eyes, pale skin. Even paler than Bella herself. Alice being so small yet able to elicit fear into any human she came in contact with. Her bright white teeth, her unbelievable strength for such a small person, her melodic voice that seemed to rope Bella into whatever Alice wanted. It was hard to believe they were even human in the first place.

So many more questions were on the tip of her tongue, but she was only able to whisper the first thing that blurted out of her mouth, "But if they're... _that_. Then they kill humans, right?"

"No," Paul's expression twisted in disgust and anger, emotions so open and vivid on his face that Bella couldn't help but stare, "It's apart of the treaty. They can't attack or kill a human. Animals. They hunt animals. That's why their eyes are gold."

Bella couldn't really understand. Or even fathom the concept. Vampires were written as so...gorey. Bloody. She couldn't even imagine one that didn't attack humans like they did in films. Would that be considered stereotyping or something? "...Are you supposed to be telling me this?"

Paul's smile turned bitter and rueful as he shook his head again, "Nah. The treaty was, if they promised to stay off Quileute lands, then we wouldn't ever expose them for what they really were to the pale-faces. But...it's different with..." He looked at her, dark eyes flickering all over her face before landing on her lips. His gaze lingered there for a few seconds, Bella could already feel the blood rushing up to her face and ears. "It's different with imprints."

The skin of her forehead wrinkled. "Imprints?"

From the look on Paul's face, she could tell this wouldn't be a good thing. Bella kept quiet though as he gathered his bearing. He looked as if he was struggling to say something, to find the right words. Finally, he muttered, "Imprints...are soulmates for...shapeshifters. You remember Sam and Emily? How they acted." Bella was still confused, but she slowly nodded. She remembered it clearly, the way he draped over her, the way he seemed to only be staring at her and no one else. Like she was his world. It'd been a little creepy to Bella, but she wasn't going to say that. Once she nodded, Paul blew out a sigh, continuing, "It's involuntary."

"That sucks," Bella suddenly spoke up, "So you pretty much can't help it?"

"Yeah...no matter what you do. You're bound to that person. For the rest of your damn life. You'd do anything for her. Protect her. Be whoever she wants you to be." Paul's words were becoming softer, more drawn out. He was obviously waiting for her full reaction.

Bella frowned, "That doesn't sound...very nice."

"It's not. It feels like a rope is tied around your damn neck. I always thought Sam looked like some type of puppy dog being towed around—"

"Wait."

He looked at her again.

Bella swallowed, but it suddenly felt like glass was sliding down her throat. "You said...it's different for imprints." As it slowly began to click, his expression became more guarded, his hands were back to being clenched into fists. Bella couldn't hide her reaction, no matter how much she would've wanted to. Rational thinking out the door, she stood up on weak legs, forcing herself to take a couple steps back from him. "No."

He was up right after her, moving towards her. When she took another step back, he stopped. "Isabella—"

" _No_!" Bella shook her head, wind throwing her loose curls everywhere, "No, Paul! You can't make some... _wolf-y_ claim on me! Is that why you've been like this?"

"Like what." His voice was low, hard, "Like what, huh? Spit it out—"

"Like an asshole!" Bella snapped at him, throwing her hands around in wild gestures. "Like you can tell me what to do all the time! Like I'm some type of toy for you to play around with! You kissed me, you kissed me without my permission! You came to my job! You came to my house because you _felt_ like it! I'm not some possession! I don't even know you!" Her voice was loud at this point, it'd been a long time since she'd yelled about anything. Since she'd even felt anger like this - it ripped through her, spreading from her toes to the ends of her fingers.

Is _this_ why Jake wanted her to speak to him? Because she thought she'd go along with it?

When he stepped closer, she jabbed a finger in his chest, ignoring the overwhelming heat coming from his bare chest. Earlier, she'd wanted to ask why he hadn't worn a shirt, but now she could see why. He felt like a furnace, no wonder. He didn't give her a chance to finish. His large hand clasped around her wrist, way too tight for it to be comfortable. With her pale skin, she would be sure to bruise by the next day. The fury on his face was almost beautiful, his deep voice venomous, "You think I wanted this? You think I wanted _you_?" Bella flinched away at his tone, "Outta all people in this piece of shit town, you think I wanted someone like _you_? This type of shit has done nothing but ruin my life, and you're just the cherry on the fucking top, Isabella! Another fucked up thing I'm stuck with 'til I'm dead!"

Bella couldn't say anything. She wasn't entirely sure why his words had stung so harshly, but they did. She was the one who rejected the entire thing in the first place. Her body betrayed her, knees weak and the color leaving her face. Tears filled her large brown eyes and it didn't take long for them to spill over, down her cheeks and off her chin. And they didn't feel as if they were stopping any time soon.

Once Paul realized what he said, he seemed to want to backtrack, eyes widening. Quickly, he released her wrist from the bruising grip and took her upper arms in his hands. "Oh, shit. No. No, Isabella. I didn't mean—"

"What the hell is going on?" Bella wasn't entirely sure when Jacob got so close, or maybe he'd been watching the entire time and decided to interrupt. Once she looked to the side, she was able to see the confusion and anger on his face. With four long steps, he ate up the couple feet between them and yanked Bella away from Paul. He stood in front of her almost protectively, shoving one hand against Paul's chest to force him back, "What're you doing?"

"Move outta the fucking way, Jacob! We're _talking_!"

"She's crying!"

"I didn't mean to make her cry!"

"I told you to take it easy!"

"It isn't my fault!"

" _Nothing's ever your fucking fault, Paul!_ "

Jacob had raised his voice so loud that Bella flinched away, cold tears on her cheeks. Taking in a deep shaky breath, Bella turned away from both of them. She had no idea what to expect anymore - they might change right in front of her and she would have no warning. With fear and a completely foreign emotion clogging her throat - _heartbreak? geez, what is_ wrong _with her_ \- she turned away from both of them, nearly sprinting across the beach.

Behind her, she could hear both Jacob and Paul yelling her name. Bella didn't stop, she didn't want to stop. In fact, she wanted _nothing_ to do with Paul Lahote.

 **.**

 **.**

"Shit!"

Bella crouched down on the ground, quickly scrabbling to grab up the shattered pieces of glass around her. She'd been pretty much in a daze while preparing dinner, so it didn't particularly surprise her when she ended up dropping the two plates within her hands. Before she could finish, Charlie came into the kitchen, his face etched with worry, "Bells? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Ch— _Dad_...no, really, it's fine..."

He'd already bent down to help her, tossing a few shards into the trash bin beside the counter. Frustrated and nervous, Bella pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ears to keep it out of the way. She could feel Charlie's eyes on her. "You okay, kid?"

 _No_. "Yes. Yeah, I'm fine." He didn't look as if he believed her. "Really, Dad, I'm fine. I just...Just a lot has been going on recently."

He shrugged a shoulder, flickering his gaze down to the broken pieces of glass beneath them, "Like what? Dr. Frentia say something? Or was it Dr. Cullen?" She could already hear the tentative tone within his voice - Charlie usually didn't like asking a lot about her thoughts and feelings, they were both awkward in that type of way. Bella didn't ask too much about him and vice versa, it was comfortable for her since she was so used to Renee bugging her every few minutes - crushes, feelings, her day. Her mother was so talkative, Bella couldn't believe they were related sometimes.

"No, it's not that..." Bella muttered sourly, rubbing her hands against her lap. "It's just..." She hesitated there, glancing between the floor and her father. She couldn't tell him, she knew that. It was still a gnawing feeling in the back of her head that wouldn't go away, how exactly was she supposed to handle all this weight on her shoulders. And especially keeping it from Charlie. In the last few months since she'd left the hospital, they'd grown much closer. She relied on him for mental and emotional support and her father had never let her down, not even once. Exhaling, she waved a hand in a random direction, as if to push away the bad energy around her, "It's nothing. Just a little argument I had with Jake. It was stupid."

The lie felt bitter on her tongue - plus, she was never a good liar in the first place. But Charlie seemed to buy it. His bushy eyebrows furrowed, pressing together, "An argument? That's new."

Bella forced a laugh. There was a knot in her throat so it probably sounded weird. "It's not a big deal. I'll get over it by tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Dad," She lifted her head and gave him a smile, "Yeah. I'm sure."

He eyed her for a few more seconds. But before he could say anything, there was the shrill sound of the phone ringing from the living room. Charlie got up before she could, slowly ushering towards the house phone to answer. Once Bella heard him pick it up, she went back to throwing away the shards of glass. Charlie's voice was quiet, much too quiet for her to listen in on. Besides, her mind was too far gone to really focus on anything at the moment, or particularly care either. So it startled her when Charlie suddenly yelled her name from the living room.

"Bella! It's Renee!"

"Ow!" She'd jumped a bit when he called out to her, so the shard in her hand cut through the skin like butter. It was a knee-jerk reaction to let go of the glass once she felt it bite into her skin. The blood was striking against her pale skin, pooling in the center in her palm. It wasn't a deep cut, so Bella wasn't really worried, but it still made her grit her teeth. Tearing a napkin off of the holder, Bella wrapped it around her hand, ignoring the sting. Charlie gave her a look of concern once he saw the paper towel around her hand, but she decided to shake her head, grabbing the phone away from him with her good hand.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey! Sweetheart, how're you?"

Everyone was always asking that question, and each time, Bella found it harder and harder to answer. Clenching her jaw, she watched Charlie make his way back to his old recliner to finish watching the game, "I'm fine. I'm great, actually. How're you? How's Phil?"

"We're good. We're really good. He's doing well." Her mother paused there, Bella could almost see the little scrunch of her nose she would do when she was curious about something, "How's Fairmont?"

"It's good. It's fine. Lenny's always asking about you."

"Still?" Renee laughed this time, Bella almost smiled. It was nice to hear that sound. "I haven't worked there in over twenty years and that man still can't get over me."

"Careful, Phil might get jealous." Her mom laughed again. They talked for a couple more minutes, Renee noticed how distracted Bella was rather easily. Once Bella deflected the questions a couple times, Renee gave up and decided to talk about something more light-hearted. As she was going on a long spiel about Phil's career, there was a knock at the front door. Both Bella and Charlie looked up, Bella only used this as an excuse to hang up. "Hey, mom, I gotta go. Someone's at the door."

"Okay, honey. Call me tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Love you." Renee returned the sentiment, and as soon as she did, Bella hung up the phone. It didn't take long to get to the door, opening it without much of a care. That is, until she saw Alice Cullen standing right in front of her.

Bella considered closing the door in her face right when she saw those golden eyes. They weren't as light as they were a few nights before. They were an onyx color, alight in the darkness and wide on her pretty little face. Her lips were curled into a welcoming smile, her teeth hidden for the time being. It looked as if she was trying to be careful with showing them. Bella's heart rate had already began to climb up, stuck up her throat and preventing her from speaking for a few seconds.

"Good evening, Bella," Alice's voice was quiet, "May I come in?"

"No," However, Bella's voice was much more forceful. When she took in a deep breath, she tried to quiet her tone so she didn't alert Charlie, "No. I...I would prefer you stayed outside." Alice remained quiet, her expression blank. Her darkened eyes glanced down and Bella followed her line of sight, realizing quickly and hiding her bloodied hand behind her back.

Alice looked back up at her, a brilliant smile once again coming to her face, "Of course." It was quiet between them. Now that Bella actually looked at her and had facts to back her up, she couldn't understand how anyone could see the Cullen family as being _human_. Their looks, their grace, their voices. It was _otherworldly_. Terrifying would probably be a better word. Alice noticed her staring, though she didn't say anything right away. Instead, she kept her smile and folded her hands in front of her, "I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, Bella."

"I'm not...uncomfortable." _A lie._

"Right," Alice's smile almost seemed condescending. "I was wondering if you were free tomorrow. I would like to come and pick you up, introduce you to the family, if that's alright with you." She made it sound so inviting, as if being surrounded by vampires could be nice. No matter how devastatingly gorgeous they could be. "We have some things...we'd like to discuss. I'm sure you know what it is."

"...Yes," Bella gave a sharp, stiff nod. "I know."

At her last statement, Alice's smile dropped by a degree. Her shoulders were straight, hands twisted tight around the other. "Yes...Carlisle wants to know exactly how _much_ you know. Jasper wants to apologize as well. He thinks he gave off a bad first impression."

Bella kneaded her free hand against her forehead, almost laughing at the ridiculousness and irony of it all. "Right." She licked her lips, squeezing at the bloody paper towel in her hand ( she really needed to clean her hand as soon as possible ), "I...don't really want to speak to you. Or...any of you for that matter—"

"Which I can understand," Alice cut in. She made her eyes large and pleading, "It'll only be a few minutes. Thirty minutes, if that. No harm will come to you, this I can promise, Bella."

"And how do you know that?"

Alice gave a small secret smile, "Intuition." She even lifted a small hand to tap at temple.

Bella remained silent. In the back of her mind, Paul was there. Practically yelling at her again - _leeches, bloodsuckers, dead_. But they didn't attack humans from what Bella could remember. She let her hand fall from her forehead, heart beating a tattoo against her ribs. She didn't know if she was shivering from the frosty bite of the wind or because Alice was so close. "...Okay."

Alice beamed, such a beautiful, blinding smile that Bella almost flinched. "Great! I'll pick you up tomorrow! At three!" She touched Bella's hand before she could yank it away, holding it in both of her small palms. Her skin was icy cold, hard and unyielding. "I can already tell we're going to be best friends." With that, she practically danced away - she had the agility and poise of a small ballerina.

It just freaked Bella out more.

Once she was back inside, Bella pressed her back against the front door, grimacing down at the bloody napkin in her hand. After it was cleaned and bandaged, she was just coming downstairs to serve Charlie the fettuccine she made when the phone rang again. Bella frowned to herself, eyes darting across the number before she picked it up off the hook. She really wasn't in the mood for anymore surprises, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bella."

"Mike?"

Mike laughed on the other side of the receiver. He sounded a bit far away - probably had his phone connected to the bluetooth in his fancy car. "Yeah, it's me. How're you?" When they finished exchanging pleasantries, Mike spoke again, "Look, I'm coming back to Forks this weekend and just wanted to know if you were free or not. It's completely fine if you're busy though." Bella chewed at the corner of her lip, ignoring the Pull yanking at her chest again. She was beginning to think it was because of Paul. Well, she was already meeting with a few vampires tomorrow, why not add a date to the list of things she had to worry about?

"Bella? You there? If you don't want to—"

"No, no. I do. I want to. What exactly did you have in mind?"

 _Honestly? Screw Paul._

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 **Another chapter out! I'm starting to get better with updating. It actually feels really good to write, though I like to keep Bella as close to character as I can. I even have the Twilight and New Moon books right next to me just so I can make sure I'm writing her well. Please remember she's an older, more matured Bella so I hope I'm not coming off too strong with her. Critique is always welcome, I love hearing your opinions!**

 **And I'll repeat this: this is a Bella finding herself story. She is not emotionally dependent on anyone, she has to learn what she wants out of life and who she wants. In this story, she will have a couple of suitors besides Paul. I can't guarantee that she will do anything with them - she might or might not - but at the end of the day, this is Paul/Bella and that is the person she will end up with. If you have a problem with Bella being interested in any other men besides Paul, I advise you quit this story right now, sorry.**

 **Thank you to all the people who popped in to give me a small review, it means the world to me and helps me know I'm doing something right or wrong. If there is anyone specifically that you would like to see next chapter, I'll try to squeeze in a small cameo! This story is based around mostly Bella and the wolves so don't look forward to seeing the Cullens a lot, I don't intend to put them in a lot of chapters. Thanks, guys!**

 **Please leave a review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**.**

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The dream had been frighteningly real. She could feel her lungs burning with exertion, the trembling in her legs, and even the feel of ice cold fingers wrapping around her neck. Alice's crimson large eyes were the last thing Bella saw before she acutely remembered feeling teeth tear into her neck. Bella nearly sprung out of bed, sitting up. Her chest was heaving, a thin layer of sweat was on her skin. It made the room feel too warm and humid, her clothes sticking to her. When she glanced at her digital clock, the brunette inhaled deeply, shoulders sagging as she breathed out.

 _1:18 PM._ She'd slept in late.

Crap. She was hoping to get a jog in before having to deal with the day. Fortunately, it was Friday so she didn't have much to worry about.

After her shower, Bella was raking a brush through her hair when she heard a door open and close. She tensed - the dream from before kept relaying over and over in her head. Peeking out the door, she was surprised to see Charlie there, strapping on his shoes. He was dressed casually for the day, in a flannel shirt and dark jeans. Bella stepped out of the bathroom, curious, "Hey, Dad. What're you doing?"

"Oh!" He looked up, "Hey, Bells." She saw his eyes glance over towards the clock on the wall, raising a brow slightly, "You're up late."

"Yeah. Slept in." She waved it off, nearly suppressing the shiver that tried to force its way up her spine, "Where're you going?"

"To Billy's, we're going fishing today."

Bella's mouth twisted subtly at the mention of Billy - which only reminded her of Jacob, which reminded her of _Paul_. There was a slight tug at her chest that she tried her best to ignore. "Oh."

At her tone, Charlie looked at her again, "Oh, right. Forgot you and Jacob had the–" He made a vague gesture with his hand, "the whole _fight_ thing. You want me to talk to him?" He even looked a bit worried, and that just made Bella's expression soften. Lifting a hand, she pushed her hair away from her face, grimacing. He was already worrying after her enough because of the whole Penny issue, she didn't want to mess up anything else. She also didn't like to worry Charlie, but she felt like if she didn't tell someone _something_ , she was going to explode.

Stubbornly, she clamped her mouth shut, only glancing up when her dad called her name again. "No, it's fine. Really. I can handle it. It was probably just me overreacting." Charlie still eyed her - he was well aware she wasn't particularly the type to overreact to much of anything. Bella gave a weak attempt at a comforting smile, "Plus, you know, _Dad_ , I'm an adult now. Have to handle things on my own now, right?"

Charlie's mustache twitched at that, and his bushy eyebrows pushed together. "Right," Almost awkwardly, he placed a hand upon her shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "Still, if you need anything, Bells, let me know. Especially - uh, _boy trouble_."

Bella blinked. _Oh, my God_. "I-It's nothing like that!" Her hands were out in front of her as if to stop traffic. Quickly catching herself, Bella mustered a blank expression, "Jake isn't really...related to boy trouble or anything like that. He's my friend."

When Charlie raised his eyebrows at her, Bella tried not to groan. Already, her ears felt hot, "You sure?"

"Yes! I'm sure, Cha– _Dad_. I'm sure."

"Alright," A pause, "I'm just sayin', that kid doesn't look at you like a friend."

" _Dad_!" Her protest was loud and drawn out, one hand rubbing against her temple, "Got it. Thank you." If there was one thing she didn't want to talk about with her own father - being as awkward and clumsy with her words as her - was relationships. It was almost painful to think about, they'd never really breached the subject before. And even with Bella being five years older than before, it didn't make her any more comfortable. "You're going to be late for fishing."

"Right," He nodded once, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he picked up his bag from the floor. "You doing anything today?" Bella followed him down the steps, rounding in the living room and to the front door.

"Yes," Bella gestured a hand dismissively, as if the subject wasn't important. She was trying to come off nonchalant. "Alice is coming to get me today."

"Mm," Charlie grunted. Once his jacket was on, he faced her again, "Be careful, then. I've heard around town that that Alice girl drives pretty fast.

 _You don't know the half of it_. "Thanks, Dad. Have fun." When the door closed, Bella allowed herself to lean against the wall heavily, glancing around the room. Well, she had about an hour to get ready and mentally prepare herself for this, might as well make the most of it.

 **.**

 **.**

Alice didn't speak as Bella entered the car. Really, she was trying to find all the excuses in the book to take just a minute longer. Once she was inside the car, there was really no turning back. Plus, she was sure she wouldn't have the confidence to tuck and roll out of the vehicle. "Don't forget your seatbelt," Alice beamed a smile her way - her eyes were a shimmering gold today, like jewels you found in treasures. When Bella was buckled in tight, Alice peeled out the driveway and took off down the street, so fast, Bella nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Sorry," Alice murmured when she noticed Bella's reaction, easing up slightly on the pedal. "Carlisle told me to act as - well, _human_ as possible with you, so that's what I'm trying to do."

Bella tensed, glancing at Alice for a second before trying to focus on the road in front of them, "It's fine," She couldn't really find much to say to that. Her heart was already racing within her chest, she couldn't help but wonder if Alice could hear it. "You're doing...okay."

"Great!" Her voice was trilling and melodic, the same beautiful smile on her face, "By the way, where did you get your shirt?"

Bella peeked down at herself. She had pretty much been in a robotic mode this morning, pulling out the first thing she saw in her drawer and putting it on. It turned out to be a deep gray cotton shirt, loose on her and hanging off one shoulder, along with a pair of fitting dark jeans and her old boots. Her messenger bag was strapped over her chest and shoulder. Even her hair was pulled back from her face, in a tight ponytail. But, she was pretty sure Alice wasn't asking to give an off-hand compliment. "Uh, don't remember."

Alice wrinkled her nose, "Try not to wear it again, it smells like dog. And it isn't a good color on you."

Bella didn't know whether to be offended or not, so she was quiet for a few seconds, "Dog?"

"Those...shapeshifters you hang around," When Bella blinked, Alice shook her head, "My family and I are all aware of what they've told you, or at least the gist. I'm not able to particularly _see_ it, but..." She trailed off there, face falling by a degree before she perked back up, "It doesn't matter. I'm sure whoever you spoke to said some...not so pleasant things. Carlisle wants to clear up everything with you, we don't want to give off the wrong impression."

Bella didn't know what she meant by "see it", but she managed to open her mouth again, "You can smell them?"

Alice's disgusted expression returned, even more dramatic than before, "Yes. It's almost overwhelming when they're around. It's all around your house and even _inside_ it. They might as well have lifted their leg and urinated all over the place, it's a clear warning. I'm not surprised. Carlisle says we don't smell very good to them either..." It still didn't stop her from frowning to herself, "Either way, werewolves are not good company to keep, Bella. They're dangerous."

"And you're not?" Bella couldn't stop herself from blurting that out.

Alice didn't seem to mind it, shrugging one small shoulder. She looked thoughtful, "Carlisle is better at responding to that type of question, rather than me. You are aware of what we are, of course we're _dangerous_ , Bella, in a sense of the word."

"But you don't eat humans."

"Heavens, no!" Alice almost looked appalled, "That would be in violation of the treaty! And more so, in my opinion, _wrong_. Our coven–well, _family_ doesn't particularly agree with how other groups may behave. Drinking from humans is a choice. Not a lifestyle," She almost sounded like one of those pro-vegan people who wouldn't stop talking, but Bella kept her mouth shut. She was much too curious to stop her. "Controlling our thirsts, our instincts, it's easy to do once you've developed more. I wouldn't say it's the easiest thing in the world, but doable. Carlisle has mastered it. As you can see, he's a doctor. He's around things that could set off any normal..." She cleared her throat as if it were hard to say the word out loud, "vampire off in a matter of seconds."

"Carlisle is your leader then," Like Sam was of the pack of boys. "You listen to him."

"Yes," Alice nodded, hands relaxed on the steering wheel, "He took most of us in when we had nowhere to turn. He taught us his practices, his diet. It was enthralling. I remember the first time I saw him..."

Her tone turned dazed. Bella stared at the road ahead, just in case Alice started to veer off it. But, to Bella's surprise, she seemed as if she could focus on multiple things at a time. Without any problem at all. It was alarming, if anything. "Saw him?"

Alice cleared her throat again, her little nose turned up in the air, "Yes. I can...how would you put it? See the future, I suppose?" Bella's head was beginning to hurt just listening to her. Her expression must've been wary because Alice released a tinkling laugh, "What's wrong? Too much at once? Trust me, Bella, you're going to need to hear all of this. Some vampires have special talents and others don't. Carlisle thinks it's amplified abilities of what we used to have in our past lives, when we were human. Jasper is an empath - he's able to feel the emotions of people around them, to manipulate them into feeling what he wants. You're perceptive, have you noticed anything odd about him?"

Bella scoffed under her breath, "What isn't odd about you all?"

Alice gave another laugh, this one higher and louder. She looked so carefree, Bella couldn't help but stare. Her shoulders even looked relaxed, pale fingers curling vaguely around the wheel. "I see. While Jasper is an empath, I'm able to see different routes someone may take. The future is subjective, of course. So most things can be difficult to pinpoint, sometimes it's just flashing events of what's possible."

Bella licked her lips, hands wringing together in her lap, "Is there anyone else in your family that has any...abilities?"

"Edward," Alice replied almost instantly. Her tone was a bit more harder than before. Bella immediately looked up at the name, lips parted. She wasn't sure what was with her body's reaction, it happened so suddenly that she was left slightly reeling. "Edward has an ability."

"...What's that?"

"Mind-reading." When Bella didn't say anything, Alice glanced over at her, "Telepathy. He's able to read others' minds."

Bella's mouth suddenly felt dry. Her heart was loud staggering sound in her ears. It was one thing to take in the mythical world around her, but a completely different thing when it came to learning things like this. It was like stuff wouldn't stop adding to the pile of things she already was worrying about. "...That's embarrassing." She could vaguely remember all the times she thought of him in high school, his name, his face. She could also recall his cold, dark eyes glaring at her, digging into her cheek. It made her shiver. Alice, seeing her reaction, immediately reached over and turned up the heater.

"Oh, don't worry!" She smiled at Bella, perfect white teeth and all, "He can't read yours."

A blink, "Excuse me?"

"He can't read your mind," Alice repeated, albeit she was a little slower with saying the words. At Bella's dumbfounded look, Alice's smile widened, "It's a first for him. It's probably why he reacted to you so strongly in the first place. Your mind, your blood–"

"What _about_ my blood?"

"Oh! We're here!" The car came to a slow stop. "I think it's probably best Edward explains his side of the story. I have a feeling it'll be very soon," Her index finger tapped lightly against her temple, her smile becoming smug. With that, she was out of the Porsche. Before Bella could blink, Alice was on her side of the car, opening the door for her with ease. Bella stared, slightly wide-eyed. "Come on."

Standing on weak legs, Bella closed the car door behind her, watching as Alice gracefully walked towards the Cullen house in her high-heels. It was one of those houses you saw out of the movies, large and open. Surrounded by tall trees and lots of land. Even the walkway up to the house looked long and extravagant. If they were going for inconspicuous, they were doing a crappy job. Fortunately for them, they were far up the road and hidden by a thin line of trees. Bella slowly followed after Alice, eyes darting all over the home.

She wasn't particularly expecting a castle with lightening flashing behind in and coffins inside. But this...was a little _much_.

Still, Bella didn't say anything, gnawing at her bottom lip. Alice opened the door, smiling at her almost comfortingly, but all Bella could do was stare. It was even more gorgeous inside, she decided. The floors, the painted walls, the impressive and cultural arts on the walls, different artifacts that probably belonged inside of a museum and would cost a hefty fine if they were broken. Never would've she imagined seeing something as nice as this in small Forks. It was very bright and very open, the windows were casting in slight shines of the sun, which had been hiding behind a series of clouds all day. She must've looked pretty surprised because Alice reached over and touched her bare forearm, causing Bella to slightly jerk at the cool temperature of Alice's skin.

Nevertheless, Alice smiled, "Come. They're waiting for you." Bella remembered nodding, keeping her steps slow but light as she followed Alice into the next room. They went through the open door beside the grand, rounding staircase. In the room, Bella immediately set her sights on the large piano in the corner, untouched and spectacular, it was almost the first thing Bella noticed. She would've if it weren't for the two other people in the room. She'd seen Dr. Cullen numerous times from her months in the hospital, but Bella couldn't help but stare - his angler face, the almost overwhelming perfection. By his side stood a caramel-haired woman, piled high on her head in a sleek bun. She was just as beautiful as the rest of her family, poised and delicate.

Bella flickered her eyes between the two before casting a glance towards Alice. She looked as if she was ready to jump up in down in her excitement, "Bella, this is Esme. And you already know Carlisle," she gestured towards them both with a graceful wave of her little hand. They both nodded towards the brunette, but made no move to approach either of them. Probably not to frighten the poor human, Bella couldn't help the slight twist of her mouth. Not that she really blamed them, in the end.

"Welcome, Bella," Esme's voice was light and airy, a warm tone to it as well. "It's nice to finally be able to meet you."

"Yes, it's been awhile," Carlisle spoke next, his dark golden eyes focused on Bella's face, as if trying to read her reaction. Alice seemed to be waiting as well.

Bella swallowed, nodding stiffly, "Nice to meet you too, Esme," And then glanced at Carlisle, "Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle," He responded goodnaturedly, a smile coming to his way. Esme left his side to stick out her hand, fluid and confident with her movements. Bella only hesitated for maybe a second or two before reaching over to shake hands with her. Her skin was cold and hard, just like Alice's. Bella was a little disturbed to realize it didn't bother her much anymore. Bella was just about to release Esme's hand when she felt a sudden, unnatural breeze beside her. When she turned her head to the side, she was thoroughly surprised to see Jasper there.

Her heart rose in her throat, her reaction was instantaneous. Bella stumbled backwards, despite herself, eyes wide and guarded. She wasn't surprised to feel a sudden blanket of tranquility douse over her, her shoulders relaxing after a few seconds. Blowing out a deep breath, she murmured, "Would you please not do that?" She wasn't sure if she was talking about the whole empathetic thing or the way he managed to get beside her so fast.

Jasper raised his hands in a placating manner and then tucked them behind his back, "Right. Please forgive me, Bella. I didn't mean to startle you," He shared a long, meaningful glance with Alice, who was staring at him beseechingly. And then his attention was back on Bella, "I hope you can excuse me for the other night. What happened was not my intention, I didn't intend for it to go that way."

Oh. _Right_. He'd attacked Paul before. Bella had almost forgot. She managed a shrug of the shoulders, watching Jasper carefully, "It's fine. I actually completely forgot about it." This caused eyebrows to raise, Alice was nearly staring a hole into the side of Bella's face. "Paul seemed okay, so I wasn't really worried about it. Are you alright?"

Jasper stared at her for a long time, exchanging another glance with Alice. His eyebrows furrowed, "Yes. I'm fine," As if Bella checking on his well-being was so ridiculous. "We're actually glad you were able to see how quickly shapeshifters can lose their tempers. They're dangerous," It sounded like the same thing Alice said in the car, but Bella pressed her lips together firmly so she wouldn't say the same thing she'd said to Alice earlier, "I realized talking it out wouldn't work. He was...very upset, from what I could tell."

Carlisle decided to speak up then, clasping his hands together to get all of their attention, but mostly Bella's. "We have much to discuss, don't we, Bella? Please, this way," he lead her into the kitchen, the other three vampires following behind them quietly. It made Bella even more aware of her surroundings. Surprised wouldn't even begin to describe her when she caught sight of Rosalie and Emmett, both within the kitchen. Emmett was at the counter, his hand moving smoothly and with lightening speed, so fast it almost looked like a blur. He was chopping away at something, probably a vegetable from what Bella could tell.

Rosalie was beside him, tight-lipped and glaring at his blurring hands. She was just mumbling something under her breath - much too quick and low for Bella to hear - when the family walked in. Almost immediately, Rosalie's dark golden eyes flickered up and landed on Bella's face. The brunette almost flinched, Rosalie's glare was frightening, sharper than the knife in Emmett's hand. "Oh, look. She's here." Her voice was deadpan, dripping with slight sarcasm.

"The girl of the hour," Emmett had already stopped cutting and was looking up at Bella, eyes alight and crinkled. He was grinning and Bella almost smiled back, and she would've if it weren't for the situation. They were both shockingly beautiful like the rest - Emmett was much bigger than Rosalie, large muscles visible underneath his sweater. Rosalie was just as Bella remembered - barely remembered - she looked like one of those airbrushed models in magazine, golden hair falling down her back in perfectly spirals. She looked as if she stared at her too long, you'd go blind. Bella was pretty grateful she hadn't seen either of them around town since the accident. Emmett's dimples showed when he eyed her, "Find the place okay?"

Bella stepped further in the room, feet shuffling against the pristine floors. It was a bit refreshing to meet someone who didn't talk as if they stepped out of a rehearsed TV show. "Alice drove me here."

Emmett burst out a sudden, booming laugh, "Really? Good thing she didn't give you whiplash then."

Alice huffed from beside me, it seemed as if she would stay by my side the entire time, "I am perfectly able to drive a human to and from a destination."

"Uh-huh," Emmett lifted his eyebrows towards Bella, laughing underneath his breath, "You probably almost scared her to _death_." The way he said it, it almost sounded teasing. Bella felt a smile tug at the edges of her lips, "Oh! There we go!" Emmett suddenly rejoiced, "A smile. My work here is done."

"Finish chopping, you oaf," Rosalie muttered, cutting him a quick glare before returning her attention on Bella. She could already tell Rosalie didn't like her very much. As Emmett went back to work, the blonde beside him spoke again, "We're making you Italian. Pasta Con Pomodoro E Basilico."

Bella had no idea what that was. Jasper spoke up from behind her, his voice sounded amused, "It's spaghetti."

"Thanks, but..." Bella glanced between Emmett and Rosalie, "I already..." She could only trail off as Rosalie's expression more tense, eyes narrowing in on Bella. "Never mind, it smells great. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Rosalie bit out, taking a quick glimpse at Alice. She said nothing more to Bella, only focusing back onto the food. Which meant they were going to move to the next room.

Once they did, Bella actually let out a little sigh of relief. She felt Alice's hand on her arm, "Don't worry about Rosalie. She's like that everyday."

Bella bit back a snarky retort, she didn't need Rosalie hating her even more than she already did. And with how good all of their senses seemed to be, she was guessing none of them had a hard time hearing what Bella was saying, even from another room. Bella decided to drop it, glancing around the room quickly. Jasper and Esme had hung back apparently, keeping inside the kitchen. Which left Bella with just Alice and Carlisle, the two who she really found the most intimidating in the end. The far wall was all glass, showing the lengthy river in the back of their yard and line of trees. Right beside the glass wall, there was the large piano again.

Carlisle followed her gaze, "Do you play?"

"What, no." She shook her hands once, "Not really. Is it yours?"

"Edward's," Carlisle said, gesturing a pale hand towards it. He slowly made his way over to it, leaning against it almost leisurely. "We're keeping it nice and safe here while he's away." Bella vaguely remembered Alice saying something about Edward being away at school, but now, she couldn't help but think it was something else entirely.

"Is he coming back?" She inquired rather curiously, rocking on her toes.

Carlisle glanced at Alice, who in return was staring at Bella. Finally, he answered, "I'm afraid not any time soon, Bella." Once again, Edward's smooth voice and dark, cold eyes flashed in Bella's mind. She tried her best to ignore it. Carlisle seemed less relaxed than before, his posture straight and professional. Keeping his tone quiet, he gestured towards the couch, "Why don't we sit? We have much to talk about, Bella."

 **.**

 **.**

Bella glanced left and then right. No sign of him yet.

So, with a sigh, she unlocked her phone and texted, _Still waiting._

It was a second or two before Erica replied: _ur fault for going so early_. A pause. _make sure u only give him a handjob. no blowjobs on the 1st date_. And then a few emoticons after that. Bella glared at her phone, cheeks tingling with slight warmth - even over text, Erica had no filter.

"Bella!"

The girl looked up at her name, surprised. Mike was making his way over to her. He was dressed nice, dark dress pants and a deep blue button up with a tie. His jacket was placed over his arm casually, and Bella didn't miss the way his eyes dragged down her, taking her in. Erica had once again helped her dress for the night - her hair was curled into loose ringlets, pinned back from her face but falling down her back in smooth waves. She wore a deep blue dress, almost matching with Mike's shirt, the dip deep between her breasts and stopping at her knees - constricting at the waist but flowing at the bottom. Erica had commented it was a nice color on her. Hopefully, she wouldn't trip in the heels she'd given her. With a bit of makeup, Erica deemed her fit enough for a date.

"You look..." Mike shook his head, a smile on his face, "You look great."

Once again, there was warmth in her face, "Thank you."

Mike lead her inside the restaurant - it was dimly lit inside and quiet, there was only the soft sound of chatter, smooth jazz music in the background, and the scraping of utensils against plates. The hostess in the front of the restaurant seemed to notice Mike immediately, grabbing two menus and leading them towards the back of the place. It was more cozy and quiet in the booth they were seated at, less people, which Mike seemed to like since Bella saw him slip the hostess a bill, "Thank you." He gave her a handsome smile.

She grinned right back, pretty and professional, "Of course, Mr. Newton. Your waitress will be with you soon."

Once she was gone, Bella picked up her menu, peeling it open quietly, "You've been here before?"

Mike shrugged, "A couple times." Plus, Bella was sure he was well known, not only his family name but his face. They were just outside of Port Angeles, Bella couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, but she was well aware that it was expensive, just by looking at the atmosphere, she didn't even want to glance at the prices beside the listed entrees.

"Do you bring all of your dates here?" Bella was more or less repeating what Erica told her to say, though she tried to come off as confident as the blonde when she said it.

Mike raised his brows, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "I'm _appalled_ , Ms. Swan. What makes you think I take just anyone on a date?"

Bella tried to hold back her smile, she really did. Erica warned her about coming off too eager or giggly. Still, she couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up her throat, "I don't know. You seem like the type of guy."

Mike appeared interested. Before he could say anything, however, their waitress approached their table. Mike ordered a fancy wine that Bella had never heard of, but he assured her it was rather good and well-received. When the waitress left, Mike returned his attention back to her, "What type of guy do I seem like?"

Bella watched him and he was watching her right back. His baby-blue eyes darted all over her face - her eyes, her lips, the delicate curve of her jaw. Bella swallowed, "I don't know. I don't really talk to guys, or people, if you haven't noticed. It's just something Erica told me to say."

Mike grinned, his million dollar grin that probably won over clients no problem. "Uh-huh. Well, you wanna know what type of girl I think you are?"

"Enlighten me."

"You're a thinker. Really perceptive. You're shy, but when you smile, you show all your teeth and it makes other people smile. You get excited when you get something right, like a little kid. You like to read, you like when it's warm outside. You're the type of girl where...a guy would be stupid not to see how great you are." His tone was gentle, eyes focused solely on her face and nothing around them. Bella suddenly felt warm, a bit too warm for normal - there was a slight tug in her chest that she ignored. "You're a real catch, Bella Swan."

Bella looked down at the menu again, finding his gaze much too intense. It didn't take long for the waitress to come back, placing two glass cups on the table and pouring their wine. She then put down a basket of fresh, warm bread right next to the bottle of wine, smiling at them both before turning away again. Bella took a hold of he glass, taking a tentative sip. She blinked, "...It's good."

"Told you," Mike smiled at her, lifting his glass to clink it teasingly with hers, "So, how's everything?"

They spoke for awhile, going back and forth. Mike kept up with her remarks, and in return, he teased her until she was turning pink under his stare again. It was...nice. Much nicer than Bella would like to admit, she never thought she would seriously be going on a date with Mike Newton. She was well aware of all the rules Erica had given her, she was breaking at least 95% of them, not that she could particularly bring herself to care. He talked about college, about Jessica, about his family. And Bella talked about her hospitalization, her recovery, her job. It felt like she was being normal for once, going on a date with someone, talking about interests and dreams. Between the werewolves and the vampire thing, she really needed something like this.

"You never told me what type of guy you think I am," Mike suddenly spoke up, leisurely cutting into his steak.

Bella looked up from her pasta - it was really good, she was glad she listened to Mike's input while she was ordering. She was already well into her second glass of wine, so she wasn't surprised when her words came out more confidently than before, "I think you're a good guy, Mike. Nice. Normal."

Mike laughed, he didn't sound offended, "Normal, hm?"

"Yep."

"You want to know what I think?"

"Even if I say no, you're going to say it anyway, right?"

"Mhm."

"Go ahead, then."

Bella was fighting off a smile as he stared at her. His eyes following the curve of her lips before flickering back to her brown eyes. There was another tug in her chest, harder to ignore than the last, "I think you're beautiful." Already, her face was getting hot, but Mike continued, "Seriously, when I saw you again in the store, I felt like it was a second chance. Before, I didn't have the guts to really try to make a move on you, thought you were too good for me. I still think you are. But...I don't think you think you are."

Bella remained silent, her expression becoming softer and more open. She wasn't sure if it was the wine or maybe Mike was really getting to her.

"I want to show you how beautiful you are. What you're worth. Because you're worth way more than you think, Bella. How you make me feel, since I was a teenager, it isn't something I can really explain. But I want to show you." And then his smile became more lighthearted, a half grin that Bella couldn't help but stare at, "You going to let me?"

Bella tried to fight off the bashful grin pulling at her lips, but failed. "If this is your way of asking me on another date, then I like it."

Turns out, Mike's laugh was a lot more infectious than she'd originally thought.

 **.**

 **.**

 **Alert! Alert! Speedy updates here, move over!**

 **No, but seriously guys! Thanks so much for the feedback last chapter, I loved it. I would seriously appreciate if you guys kept it up, it means the world to me. I want to hear all of your opinions and how you feel the fic is going, good or bad, it doesn't matter. Bella might've come off a little creeped out when it came to the Cullen's, but only because in this fic, I don't see her being very open to the supernatural at first, especially with how she was introduced to it. She'll warm up soon, I promise!**

 **Next chapter is Paul POV, so look forward to that! I hope you guys like how I put Mike in this chapter, I'm trying to write him as well as I can - well, how I imagine he would be after the next few years in this fic. Thanks for reading guys!**

 **Please leave a review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**.**

 **.**

"It's not working," The girl frowned up at Paul from between his legs, eyes narrowed. Paul lifted his hand off his face - he'd been rubbing at his temples for the last five minutes to try and quell the numbing headache. In fact, his entire body felt as if he'd pushed it far too hard. He wouldn't be surprised, he'd run from the Canadian border and back in a matter of days, just to keep himself from thinking. His wolf finally collapsed in on itself when Paul literally brought himself to exhaustion. Sam was the one that had to order him to stop and change back.

A month.

It'd been a month since he'd last seen Bella. A week since he'd last been in his wolf form - he'd been in it for so long, he almost forgot what it felt to walk on two feet. He couldn't tell if it was from the exhaustion or because of the imprint anymore, the longer he'd stayed away from Bella, the worse his condition seemed to get. He couldn't find an appetite ( Emily had to pretty much force food down his throat every time she saw him ) and he was more irritated than usual. He could count on both hands how many times he'd snapped at his pack mates over the weeks for something so trivial. Sam took it the most - probably because deep down, Sam knew what he was dealing with, forcing himself to stay away from his imprint, he knew what type of hell it was. But Paul also had plenty of options. Options and initiatives that he refused to take. Even Jacob was starting to give him the stink eye.

He tried to ignore the urges, he really did. But it just got harder with each day that went by. Every night, he'd go to sleep and dream about Bella. It was instinctive, his wolf practically drooled over her at this point. And then every morning, he would wake up with a painful boner that he was forced to take care of with his hand. He was becoming addicted to her. Matter of fact, he was _already_ addicted to her. The way her hair always seemed to hold a curl no matter how many times she straightened it, the weird, teasing curve of her mouth that seemed to match with the shape of her face, the wispy fine blonde hairs on her arms that you could just barely see if you squinted, the brown of her eyes and the smooth texture of her skin, the dotting freckles all over her ( especially on her nose and cheeks and shoulders and knees ), some darker than others and some so light you couldn't see them.

He'd tried something different tonight. This night, he went out, bought a few drinks, and brought a girl home. Her name was Denise. Or maybe Diamond. Honestly, he couldn't find himself particularly caring what her name was at this point. It wasn't like it mattered - she didn't give a fuck about him and he didn't give a fuck about her. There were no strings attached, just how he liked it. Or how he used to like it, he thought sourly, glaring at his limp cock. She'd been toying with it with her mouth and hands for the last thirty minutes and nothing seemed to work. It also didn't help that everything in him was telling him to pretty much throw her off him. It was more of an annoyance than arousing to have her in his house.

He rubbed at his jaw, finally blowing out an agitated sigh and standing. It didn't take long for him to tug up his pants and put away his dick. Paul didn't bother waiting for her to move out of the way, instead walking around her so that he could fiddle with his zipper and pull it up as well. Once he was finished, he shrugged a shoulder noncommittally towards her, "Don't worry 'bout it. Thanks anyway."

She looked as if she didn't know whether to be offended or not. Then she flexed her jaw - she'd been using her mouth over him for quite some time, so he could understand the discomfort. "O- _kay_. Do you want to do anything else...?" Her tone was suggestive and, still on her knees, she reached towards him, one hand touching his knee through his jeans.

Paul backed away before she could get hold of his dick again, readjusting himself once before turning away, "Nah. You can go if you want, I'll give you cab money." As he grabbed up his wallet and thumbed through a few bills, he did his best to ignore the disappointed waves coming off her. Once he turned back towards her and held out the cash, she glowered up at him, snatching it away.

"Thanks for nothing, asshole," And with that, she was gone. She still took the money, Paul couldn't help notice sardonically. Once she was gone, he found himself lying out on the couch, one beer in hand and staring at his ceiling. Was this how it was going to be now? Finding girls wherever and struggling to get his dick hard? Ignoring the pull in his chest that wouldn't go away? Trying to forget her every night then waking up the next morning with a hard-on? What a shitty life. He already knew that the imprint would be tough to ignore, but he didn't know it would be this constant headache. It felt like pulling teeth, every damn day.

His hand tightened around the glass bottle, and growling underneath his breath, he placed it on the end table beside the couch. Paul sat up, keeping silent. His steps were purposeful and loud as he made his way to the back door. He was once again leaving the house. And when he was stripped from all his clothing, his wolf tore out of him, racing into the woods without hesitation. The rest of the pack was resting - or so he thought - no one clicked inside of his head inside of his head immediately so he thought he was safe.

 _"Goin' somewhere?"_

Paul came to a slow stop, nearly growling at the voice. It was Seth, about two miles away from him, but wide awake and running around in circles like an idiot. Paul glared over in the direction, though he couldn't spot Seth just yet. _"Mind your own business."_

 _"I am,"_ Seth replied jovially, he was obviously pleased with his quick comebacks and that he'd managed to sneak on Paul, _"You're heading to Bella's, right?"_

This time Paul did growl. It was a low and threatening sound. _"I_ said _mind your own business, Seth."_

It didn't take anymore than that for Seth to back off a bit, _"Okay, okay, geez,"_ A pause, _"But seriously, are you going to Bella's?"_

 _"What does it look like?"_

 _"Haven't you heard?"_

Against Paul's better judgement, his ears twitched upwards. As if Seth was saying the words out loud, _"Heard what, numb-nuts?"_

 _"Bella's moving. Like tomorrow. Or the day after,_ " Seth said it so casually, like it was old news. Maybe it was. _"With her friend, the hot blonde one that came to the beach. Jacob didn't tell you?"_

 _"Why in the hell would Jacob tell me anything?"_ They hadn't exactly been on the best of terms the last few weeks. Jacob rarely spoke to him after what happened with Bella, not that Paul could blame him. It would be irrational to do so, but he still did. Not only did Jacob not tell him, but neither did Bella. Being his imprint and all, he thought she would feel a little fucking obligated to give him a heads up, but obviously not. He growled under his breath, he couldn't stop himself from pacing the ground, claws digging into the earth. His wolf was becoming antsy at the thought of their imprint moving locations, unaware of where she would be.

Now, he was even more pissed. Seth seemed to realize it a couple seconds later, _"Hey, maybe you should go for a run or something. You know, to calm down."_

 _"Fuck you, Seth,"_ was all Paul could get out, his brain was filled with static. He couldn't get much else out. All he could do was take off in the direction of the Swan home. It was the middle of the night, so there would be no point in going to her front door, pounding on it, and yelling at her. He saw how well that went over last time - his imprint was a lot different than what he'd first imagined. She didn't back down from him, she even did this little thing where she jut out her chin and crossed her arms. It turned him on more than he'd like to admit.

The fur on his back was already standing at full attention, thick and coarse. The smell of bloodsuckers around the home wasn't new, but it wasn't exactly old either. He circled around the area a few times, teeth bared and muzzle wrinkled. Paul wasn't exactly sure why Bella never seemed to listen to him, but then again, she always seemed like the type to attract trouble. Another thing he had to worry about. He was starting to see similarities to Sam with his behavior, it was making him even more paranoid and irritated.

Just what the hell was he supposed to get out of this?

 _Mine. Mine. Mine_ , his wolf wouldn't shut the fuck up either. His wolf whimpered, hidden within the trees. Paced, spun around a few times, and finally found a comfortable spot enough on the ground to rest. Just the sight of the moving truck in front of the Swan house was enough to make him anxious - it was going to be a long night of waiting, that was for sure.

 **.**

 **.**

"Thanks, dad," Bella smiled up towards Charlie, taking the box from him and loading it onto the truck. Erica stood off to the side - she seemed to take breaks every few minutes or so. It was a hot day for once, Erica was dressed in impossibly short shorts and a camisole, her light pink bra see-through. Bella was beginning to wonder if Erica really meant to flirt with her dad endlessly or was just trying to be funny. Either way, Bella snorted underneath her breath at the possibilities.

It was moving day, after a month of trying to figure out what her next move would be, Bella decided to take Erica up on her offer and find a place together. It worked out flawlessly. They found an apartment not too far from the diner with two bedrooms and one bathroom, small kitchen and spacious living room-entrance area. The rent wasn't that bad either, with both of their incomes, they could bring in enough for month by month. It was a chance for Bella to be truly independent for once in her life, she was so accustomed to other's watching over her for the last few months, that she'd forgot how it'd felt to take care of everything by herself. It felt so refreshing to be able to know she was going off on her own - soon, hopefully, she'd be able to stop going past the hospital every week and the therapy check-ups with Dr. Frentia.

She felt so... _human_. Sweating, hair sticking to the nape of her neck, struggling to lift up heavy boxes. Being around vampires kind of made her grateful that her heart was still beating within her chest. Alice had said she would keep in touch, but Bella hadn't seen much of her around town, nor at the diner. Not that it bothered her, in fact, she'd rather all of them stayed as far as possible. She didn't need anymore problems, it seemed as if knowing their secret was an entirely new surface she was afraid to jump in to. She had barely broke the mold, as is, it seemed.

She'd kept her mouth shut about the entire thing. She doubted anyone would believe her. And there was no point in telling anyone anyway. Just as she was loading another box onto the truck, she heard the sound of a car pulling up behind her. Bella turned, blinked, and then a wide smile came across her face. It seemed as if she was unable to hold it back when it came to Mike these days. He got out of his fancy car - he was dressed down today, more casually in neutral colors. For once, he didn't stick out like a sore thumb in little one-horse town Forks.

"Mike! Hey," Bella greeted once he got close enough.

Mike smiled his handsome, lopsided smile, tipping his head towards her, "I would hug you, but the Chief is standing right there."

Bella followed his head nudge, glancing over to the side to see Charlie watching them closely from the porch. Bella cracked another grin, sliding her hands into her jean pockets, "He never really got the chance to be a _protective dad_ , so I don't blame him," She eyed Mike for a few seconds, licking at her bottom lip once before speaking again, "And you're here, why again?"

"To see you," he said it so casually, but Bella's stomach suddenly felt warm with him just being so close. "To help out. Also, to bring you a gift."

The smile on Bella's face almost fell immediately. "No," she shakes her head, "absolutely not."

"You can't really say no," Mike was laughing by that point, "It's a gift, Bella."

"Uh-huh," Bella moved around him, grabbing another box from the ground and placing it in with the rest, "Still a no, Newton."

"I'm hurt," said Mike, though it was full on obvious that he wasn't. "C'mon, Bella. Consider a house-warming gift."

"I haven't even moved in yet!"

"So?"

Obviously, everything she was saying was falling on deaf ears. Still, she continued to protest, "How much did you spend on it?"

"Not a lot."

"So it's a _cheap_ gift," Bella was smiling to herself, trying to hide it by keeping her back turned to him and rearranging the boxes into a more neat pile against the wall of the truck. "Thanks, Mike. Really feeling the love here."

"We'll talk about love later, little lady," Mike held out the bag for her. It wasn't too big, and wasn't too small so Bella had no way of knowing exactly what it was from just looking at it.

Instead, she faced Mike fully, slowly reaching up and taking the bag from him with a grimace. Her eyes betrayed her though, they were crinkling with obvious effort to try and stop a smile from appearing. "Did you just call me little lady?"

"Well," Mike made a vague gesture with his hands towards her, "You aren't exactly big. And to my knowledge, you're a lady."

Bella pointed a finger at him in warning, "Watch it. People are cracking down on that type of stuff, no assuming other's genders."

Mike raised his hands in surrender this time, though the playful smile was still on his face, stretching wider at her mock-indignant look, "Alright, alright. I'll keep to neutral pronouns when referring to you then," When Bella nodded, obviously pleased with that answer, he tilted his head slightly, "Hurry up and open it, Swan."

She finally decided to listen to him, opening the bag and peeking inside. She pulled out the content inside, flipping it open with ease, "A calendar."

"Told you I didn't spend a lot of money on it."

"Yeah, I can tell," Bella was grinning ear-to-ear, either way, "And it's from your parents' shop."

"You caught me," he was smiling right back at her, thoroughly amused, "See? You put up all that fuss for nothing."

Truth be told, she really did need a calendar to post in her and Erica's kitchen. She took another glimpse in the bag, finding a few other essentials. Silverware, Kleenex, and soap. Just normal things you would forget when moving into somewhere new, things you needed. Bella glanced back up towards him, expression softening by a degree, "Thanks, Mike." It wasn't much, but it obviously showed he cared enough. And in the end, it'd also helped her laugh. Waking up bright and early six AM in the morning could put you on edge, so she could've used a good laugh anyway.

"What're we thanking lover boy for?" Erica had come back outside, a bottle of water in her hand and no box in the other. Bella nearly rolled her eyes.

"He brought us a few things for the apartment."

"Oooh, a couple a dildos maybe?"

Bella made a face, "I don't think that's under something we need."

"Maybe not for you," Erica pointed a perfectly manicured finger at her. No wonder why she wasn't carrying boxes, "But for me, it's a necessity." She turned to face Mike again, one hand resting upon her hip, "You remind me of the cute, down to earth boys in rom-coms."

"Yeah?" Mike didn't seem the least bit offended, "I don't really watch romantic comedies. I can name a few though."

Bella was interested now, "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Uh," he thumbed at his bottom lip, considering it for awhile, "How about that one movie? _Clueless_."

"What?" Bella scoffed, staring at Mike like he grew a second head, " _Clueless_ is not a romantic comedy."

This time, Erica spoke up, "Actually, it is."

"It's not even about romance," Bella disputed, shaking her head at both of them, "I should know. I've seen it a dozen times."

"Fine, name another one," Erica looked towards Mike with obvious mirth.

Mike scratched his chin - as if it was really that hard to think of something, "Oh! I know. _Edward Scissorhands_."

"Are you being serious or are you joking?"

"Hey! It was a good movie!" Mike pointed a finger at Bella, though the grin on his face was just growing with every word he said. He tried to come off more serious, his lips twitching at the edges, "How about that _Scream_ movie?"

Erica moved past both of them, "Are you just naming bad 90s movies, now?"

As soon as Erica was out of earshot, Mike continued, " _Breakfast Club._ "

Bella shook her head again, trying to suppress the smile trying to break free. It wasn't really working out in her favor. "The Breakfast Club was not a romantic movie. It was about an entire group of teenagers. It never even really focused on the romantic parts. Did you even watch the entire movie?"

"No," Mike replied, "I haven't watched three out of four of those movies."

Bella's mouth fell open, one hand reaching out and lightly swatting his arm, "What is _wrong_ with you? Which ones?"

Mike rubbed at his arm, even though Bella had barely hit him, " _Wow_. Violent. I'm afraid to tell you, you might hit me again." Her face was beginning to hurt from how much she was smiling. Bella bit at her bottom lip, hands resting on her hips. Once Mike stopped laughing to himself, he faced her, leaning a bit closer, "You busy next Tuesday?"

Bella was already shaking her head before she knew what she was doing. And then blurted, "No. No, I'm not." She couldn't even remember next week's schedule right now.

"Is it alright if I come and get you then? I want to show you something." He seemed eager about whatever it was, so Bella nodded fast. She probably looked like a bobble head. Just as Mike was about to open his mouth and say something else, his cell phone rang. Loud and shrill. Mike broke eye contact, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone, one finger raised to obviously say "one minute". Bella nodded again, watching him walk back towards his car. She was probably staring for far too long since Erica ended up beside her again, elbowing her in the side.

"He's got a cute butt."

Bella jerked, ears turning red, "What?"

"Cute. Butt. Round. Something you wanna grab onto when he's good and deep." She said it so casually that it didn't even sound _bad_. The brunette should honestly be used to Erica's mouth already. "Speaking of nice and deep, you screw him yet?"

Bella went back to picking up boxes, pushing them into the truck, "Do you have any tact?"

"I try not to be words I don't understand."

Erica wouldn't stop staring at her, so Bella decided it was best to just spill. She was living with the girl now, no point in keeping secrets, "No. We haven't done anything." Mike was strictly a gentleman, Bella had realized that early on. They'd been seeing each other for the last three weeks, whenever Mike had the time to come into town, he would come and see her. Take her out for lunch, jog with her in the mornings, come by the diner. He'd even gotten into the habit of calling her during the week. It was merely small talk, nothing too bad that Bella couldn't handle. She liked it that way - simple, not too overwhelming, a slow burn. With Paul, it'd been so quick, too hot, and _scary_.

Bella sighed. _Speaking of Paul..._

She hadn't seen him for weeks now. And she couldn't stop thinking about him. Even when she was with Mike, it was like she was being pulled in two different directions. She'd much rather stay on the same path she'd been treading for the last twenty or so years of her life - safe, clear, easy to walk on. Paul was something else entirely, his path would surely end up with her stumbling over something and getting hurt. And that was the last thing she wanted. And because she hadn't seen much of Paul, she also hadn't seen much of Jacob. Which hit her even harder than her argument with Paul, she wondered if maybe she'd upset Jacob as well. He'd tried to get them to talk and maybe Bella was the reason the entire thing went to crap. Her eyebrows dropped, hand reaching up to rub at her temple.

"That was my boss," Mike made himself known as he settled beside her, leaning against the truck, "Needs to meet with me."

Bella raised a brow, "On a Saturday?"

Mike shrugged one shoulder, "Don't you get called in on Saturdays?"

"Good point," she stared at him for a few seconds, eyes following the strong line of his jaw - he'd shaved recently, she could tell. And then to his eyes, "You going to tell me what you're trying to show me next week?"

"Oh! Right," Mike nodded once, crossing his arms over his chest, "Baseball."

Bella's eyebrows rose again, "Baseball."

"Mhm."

"You can't be serious," she nearly groaned, "You went to high school with me, you saw how uncoordinated I was."

"Don't worry," Mike looked close to laugh, obviously he remembered, "You don't have to play. Just, maybe, come and cheer me on."

"You're playing?"

"It's a company thing. Every third Tuesday of the month, we go and play baseball downtown, rent out the bleachers and little stadium. My boss's dad was really into sports, used to be obsessed with baseball. My boss just keeps the trend going, you know?"

Bella watched him for a few seconds, "...Fine. I'll come. But don't hand me a bat or anything. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Mike laughed again, it was a deep and rich sound in his chest. "Noted." His eyes got that tender look in them again, light blue and staring directly into Bella's. "So...Tuesday?"

She nodded again, "I'll be there."

And his answering smile was brilliant, "Good." He glanced towards the house, where she was sure Charlie was still watching. Then returned his attention to her, leaning down to kiss her soundly on the head, right at her hairline. Bella blinked. By the time she opened her mouth to say something, he was already heading over to his car. Once he opened the door, he directed another welcoming smile towards her, "Good luck with the move."

"Thanks for the stuff," was Bella's reply. When he was gone, Bella turned around, only to come face-to-face with Erica. She looked far too interested for her own good. Bella pursed her lips, moving around her, "When're you going to start helping move stuff again? Boxes go in the truck, Erica."

"When're you gonna spill about you and lover boy, hmm?"

When Bella gave her a jaded look, Erica finally relented. As Erica went back to putting boxes into the truck, Bella made her way back into the house, making sure she'd grabbed everything. Charlie was seated in his recliner, trying to come off as casual - as if he wasn't just watching Bella and Mike's entire exchange. Bella slowly walked over to him, one hand resting atop the chair.

"Dad, I'm going to start taking stuff to the apartment, okay?"

This caught Charlie's attention. He sat up, back straight. Dark brown eyes that matched hers stared at Bella, and his expression softened, "Alright. You sure you don't need help with the moving truck? I can drive it."

"No," Bella shook her head, "Erica's got it." It was silent between them for a few seconds before Bella attempted to perk up, "Hey, I'm going to come here every other day and cook some dinner, alright?"

"I know that, Bells." He clearly hesitated with something, eyeing her for a few seconds before speaking again, "Just...worried about you. Dr. Cullen said—"

"I'm _fine_ , Dad," Bella insisted. "I feel fine." Plus, the last thing she wanted to talk about was Carlisle Cullen. "I promise to call. Every night. And if I feel sad or anything like that, I'll let you know." Obviously, he was still very worried about her symptoms - depression and insomnia was a danger for her. Fortunately, she had stuck to the sleeping pills that had been prescribed and kept up with her daily jogging. She kept quiet, considering it, "I want you to worry about yourself, Dad. For the last few years, you've been worried about me. I'm fine now, I swear."

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Charlie remained silent, quietly watching her expression before his eyes dropped, "Right. Yeah. I got it, kiddo." Affectionately, he patted at her hand before dropping his back to his lap. Bella, feeling content with that answer, leaned down and dropped a kiss to Charlie's cheek. His ears were already getting pink in three seconds flat. Of course. He cleared his throat once, turning to her more fully to see her better, "And another thing—"

 _Oh, god._ From his tone, she already knew where this was going. Moment ruined.

"—you and that Newton kid. You two serious?"

Bella pressed her lips together.

"I'm only asking because I care, Bells. I mean," Again, he cleared his throat, "I don't want you to get—uh, hurt. Or anything. He seems like a nice kid. Like he'd treat you good and all. Been comin' around a lot for the last few weeks and—"

Bella stopped her father before he started to ramble. "Dad, it's fine. I don't...know if we're serious or not, but whatever happens, I can handle it. I promise."

He seemed happy with that answer, nodding and taking a drink from his beer. "Alright. Good." He also looked pretty relieved that he didn't have to continue talking about it.

Once everything was loaded onto the truck, Bella turned and hugged her father. Erica was already closing the door to the truck, locking it into place and looking towards Bella expectantly once she stepped away from Charlie. Erica raised a blonde brow at the brunette, "Ready to go?"

Bella, taking one more look at her home, nodded. Beaming, she replied, "Yeah. Let's go."

 **.**

 **.**

It was two days later when Paul finally got the guts to go over and look at the new apartment. By this point, he already knew it by heart. He'd followed the moving truck to the home, stalking Bella's scent wherever it went. The two girls were insanely busy for the forty-eight hours. In and out the apartment constantly. Erica nagged a lot, Bella laughed a lot, and they both collapsed soon after unpacking a few boxes. Paul knew he had a few hours to get home, eat, shower, and change into clothes. He'd been running around in his wolf form the past three days. He ignored the others, setting back out of his house and taking his truck down towards Port Angeles.

Erica was gone from what he could see. And there was no noise outside. Paul might've broken the front door, ignoring the buzzer and instead making his way up the steps. Even with all the other scents in the air, all the other people, he immediately could smell Bella. He followed her scent to the apartment, steps long and purposeful. There was a moment of hesitation, and then he knocked on the door, none too gently. It only took around ten seconds for her to open the door.

Paul stared.

She had on these over-sized sweats that would probably look ridiculous on anyone else. Her face was a bit flushed, hair still wet and curling from a supposed shower. And she was barefoot. And somehow, she looked too fucking beautiful to be real. Paul's eyes flickered all over her face - finding the almost nonexistent freckles on the bridge of her nose, her bottom lip that was a little bigger than the bottom, every lash surrounding her brown eyes, the little scar that disappeared into her hair line that you could only see if you looked really closely ( probably from the car crash ). Once she realized it was him, her eyes narrowed and her jaw flexed, doing that little jutting stubborn thing she liked to do when she was pissed.

It was sexy as hell.

She began to close the door. Paul already saw that coming. He placed a large hand against the door, stopping her, "I need to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," she made it sound so easy. Like she could go without seeing him for the rest of her life. It hurt more than he expected, not that he would ever admit it.

Instead of giving her a chance to say anything else, he forced his way into the apartment, muttering, "too bad" under his breath. Bella didn't bother trying to stop him, so he took a chance to look around. Pictures were already being set up, the living room looked more or less finished ( the couches looked used, old, but comfortable ) and there was a large rug in the center of the room. Paul walked deeper inside of the apartment, stuffing his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn't touch her. His eyes darted around the room, finally finding what he'd been looking for. The living room was open and big enough that it also made up dining room, which was next to the kitchen.

It wasn't hard to find. He moved around the line of counters bordering the living room and kitchen, and made it to the fridge, ripping the calendar off without hesitation.

"Hey!" Bella nearly ran over, trying to snatch away the calendar from him. Of course she would.

Paul glared over at her, he couldn't stop the red-hot anger that spread throughout his chest. "Why do you have this?"

"What does it matter to you?" She tried to jump for it, and he tried not to notice that she wasn't wearing a bra. "Give it, Paul!"

Paul held it away stubbornly, angrily. It reeked of that fucking guy's cologne. And she had the nerve to pin it up, like it was the first thing that came to mind when moving into her apartment. He wanted to rip into shreds right in front of her. Throwing it onto the counter, Paul moved towards her. Before they both knew it, he had her pinned up against the wall, nowhere to run. Her scent was overwhelming, and he drunk it in almost too greedily. All of his instincts were telling him to take her now, right against the wall, it didn't matter.

Bella was nearly panting, eyes wide and dark, staring straight at him. She swallowed, "Y-You can't just come in here and do whatever you want, Paul! Just who do you think you are!" She shoved her hands against his chest so hard, he almost felt it.

He locked his jaw, gripping onto her upper arms and forcing her back against the wall, "Listen. You're my _imprint_ , whether you like it or not. Whether I like it or not, and this whole 'not talking for weeks at a time' shit ain't working for me. I need to see you every day." Really, this entire speech had sounded better in his head, probably where it should've stayed since Bella looked even more pissed off than before.

Bella gave him that stubborn look again. She didn't look the least bit scared, as if he wasn't a guy six foot guy that was over a hundred pounds heavier than her. She barely looked like she weighed a hundred. "If I remember right, you said I was just another _fucked up_ thing you were stuck with." The heat and venom in her voice was enough to make him almost fall to her knees - anger looked beautiful on her, everything looked fucking beautiful on her.

For a few seconds, he didn't know whether to kiss her or argue back, but soon decided on the latter. If he did anything stupid again, he probably wouldn't be able to come back from it, "I...I wanna know you, okay? I wanna know everything about you. I don't want to keep fucking this up with you, Isabella." Whatever expression was on his face was enough to make her frown inquisitively, dark brown eyes flickering all over his face to see if he was lying or not. He found himself staring at her lips, watching as she pulled the bottom one between her teeth.

He nearly groaned.

Tightening his grip around her arms, he leaned closer, listening to her soft breathing spike in speed, "I want you...so bad. You have no idea, Isabella. You're the only thing right now that I give a shit about. The only thing I want."

"But you said—"

"Screw what I said. Starting right now, we're startin' over."

"Paul—"

"I mean it. Right now, starting over. No more bullshit, Isabella."

Bella locked her jaw again, her expression was softer than before, but obviously she was struggling to say angry. Which was good - progress and everything. "...No more being mean to me then."

She sounded like a child. He almost smiled - he deserved that, "Alright."

"No more forcing your way either."

"Got it."

"And no more kissing me without my permission."

He stared at her for a long time. Slowly, his large hand lifted, one thumb pressing against the corner of her mouth, watching her lips part almost eagerly. As if waiting for him to lean in and kiss her. He nearly snorted - _yeah, right_. "Isabella, next time I kiss you, you're gonna want it. Trust me."

 **.**

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 **ANOTHER UPDATE! Typos galore. An early Christmas present to most people maybe? I don't know. I have no idea if I'm doing good with this story, I really am trying to keep characters IC and everything, it's harder than I originally thought. Next chapter, a little more Mike/Bella, Jacob, mythical creatures, and all the works. Also, I haven't forgotten about Jacob's romantic feelings/friendship for Bella and not Micah's either. Everything is going to fall into place, I promise.**

 **I've also debated whether or not returning to one of my favorite stories, Geek Magnet. Maybe cleaning it up a little, actually doing Purple Crayon, in Jasper's POV. I don't know, what do you guys think? Maybe I will, I love that depiction of Jasper honestly. It'd be fun to write, though I don't know if most of you read it. Anyway, please leave a review!**

 **I love reading you guys reviews, it really makes me happy!**

 **Happy Holidays guys!**


	13. Chapter 13

**.**

 **.**

Bella breathed out evenly, eyes focused straight ahead. Her jogging schedule was better now, she managed to wake up every morning at ten AM and jog until around eleven, just enough for her to be on time for lunch. But things were different this week, as she sprinted as fast as she could, she felt as if she couldn't shake the shadow that had been constantly following behind in - right behind the thin line of trees beside the path. Slowly, she came to a stop, glancing over in that direction, bracing her hands upon her knees.

The path she usually took for jogging was a long winding one. It was more or less a deserted road that no one cared to pave. And very close to the greenery that stretched through Forks. Bella hesitated, feeling a drop of sweat slide down her neck as she turned her head. Just through the break of the trees, she could see the golden brown eyes staring right back at her. Like usual. She should've been more wary about this, but it'd been a strong recurrence whenever she took the time to jog in the morning for the last week or so. Finally, she blew out a sigh, standing up straight and slowly making her way into the forest. It didn't take long to find him, frighteningly large and intimidating.

The gray wolf didn't move, sitting back on his haunches and regarding her with a stare that was way too intelligent for an animal. He was horse-sized, Bella probably didn't even weigh more than one of his hind legs. His presence was nearly overwhelming, large and built, face relaxed but large dark eyes following her every move. Bella stared back - every time she came face-to-face with Paul in this form, she was more or less rendered speechless for a few seconds. He was terrifying, yes, but also very intriguing. Almost beautiful in his breathtaking presence. And besides, this Paul didn't exactly open his mouth a lot and stick his foot ( paw? ) in it.

At last, Bella found her voice again, attempting and failing to keep the waver out of it, "Paul, I told you, you don't have to follow me around every morning."

Nothing. Just a blink in her direction.

Bella huffed, crossing her arms over her chest firmly, "I'm serious."

Nothing.

"You promised you wouldn't force your way anymore."

This time he gave her a look. It looked a bit irritated. Through the muzzle, the fur, and the teeth, she could see Paul glaring right back at her - strong arms crossed over his chest and stance defensive. He was just as stubborn as her.

Bella locked her jaw, refusing to back down, "Why can't you just be normal? Like - ask me stuff rather than follow me around?"

The gigantic wolf slightly relaxed, opening his mouth to reveal shiny rows of white, sharp teeth and lolling his tongue out of his mouth lazily. Right. Nothing about this was normal, why was she trying to make it seem as if it was? Bella rubbed at her forehead, suddenly very tired of trying to speak to an animal. The wolf tilted his head at her, eyes questioning and a slight droop in his ears. Bella knew that reaction - almost immediately, she thrust her hands out in front of her.

"No! Just - no! Do _not_ change back! It's fine, I'm fine," She'd already went through that traumatizing experience earlier that week. When she tried to speak to him the first time, he'd grown so frustrated with the miscommunication, he shifted right in front of her without a second thought. Long story short, Bella saw much more than she expected. Muscled, russet skin everywhere. It was hard getting it out of her head. Even with his being in this form, there was still that warmth there, deep inside her stomach that wouldn't go away. It was like this string that kept yanking them together, no matter how far Bella may go, she was still drawn to him.

After tentatively lifting her head, the brunette watched him for a few seconds, teeth worrying at her bottom lip. Paul watched her, too. "...Hey, can I try something?"

Paul tilted his large head, the sun catching strands of his gray fur and lighting it to a shiny silver. Without waiting for him to move, Bella stepped forward this time. This action was done cautiously - even though she knew it was Paul under all that fur and canine, he was still an animal in this form. And she saw how fast and rabid he could be - the thought of him being tackled into the woods by Jasper suddenly flashed through her mind. Sharp teeth, wrinkled muzzle, drool dripping from his mouth, he looked absolutely horrifying, like out of those scary werewolf movies she used to watch as a kid. Shaking her head, Bella pushed away the thought forcefully, things were different now. She had agreed she would try and make this work, not only to Paul, but to herself. There was no denying the attraction and the need to be around him.

Slowly, hesitantly, she reached out and ran her fingers along the edge of his right ear. It twitched under her touch, and Paul lifted his head slightly to sniff at her hand, watching her curiously at this point. His nose pressed there against her palm, cold and wet. It looked as if a good reaction, so Bella continued, gently rubbing at his ear, and then sliding her fingers through the hair on his head. It was rough to the touch at first, coarse and thick through her fingers, before she burrowed deeper and felt the soft under-hair beneath it all. Paul seemed to like it, he seemed to like whenever she took the time to touch him, really. Right then, he reminded her a lot of a puppy, closing his eyes and leaning into her hand.

When she pulled away, it almost looked as if he wanted to follow her. Bella blew out a small, shaky sigh, watching him, "...Sorry. This is all real new to me. I don't know how to act sometimes. With," she gestured her arms vaguely in his direction, "with this." And then turned, and headed back to the trail. She didn't forget to throw over her shoulder though, "And if this is your way of trying to get to know me, you're doing a terrible job, Paul."

She swore she heard something between a cough, bark, and a laugh come from the wolf, tongue hanging outside his mouth again.

 **.**

 **.**

"You're early," Beatrice observed when she saw Bella. Bella stood in front of the work lockers, pulling off her jacket and hanging it up. Once that was done, she went to work pulling back her hair into a ponytail, "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, ha-ha," Bella snorted once she was finished, next going to work on tying her apron around her waist, "Don't group me with Erica."

"You two are roommates now, wouldn't you start to share the same things? Clothes, tampons, panties—"

Bella made a face, debating whether or not she should laugh, "What? Do sisters really do that?"

"Mhmm. My little sister was always stealin' my shit."

"Including panties?"

"Even panties." Beatrice was having way too much fun seeing the different faces Bella would make. Her expression was playful when she spoke again, "Have you talked to Micah?"

"No, why?"

"He's in one of his moods. Erica's said it's because you've been bringing a lotta boys 'round. The tall one, the pretty boy—"

"Paul and Mike?"

"—And I think he's a little jealous."

Bella's brows creased, "Why would Micah be jealous?" When Beatrice slanted her a disbelieving look, Bella scoffed, closing her locker, "Oh, please! Not you too, Beatrice! Micah does _not_ like me."

Beatrice's expression became exasperated, "What is this, high school? You kids still check the YES or NO box when boys asks if you like him? Look, he's too much of a gentleman to pressure you, but he's got total googoo eyes over ya', Bells."

Bella's frown deepened even further. Even with Beatrice and Erica confirming it, Bella still couldn't see it. She'd known Micah for a couple months now, he was a friend. Right after Jacob, he was another person of the opposite sex that she could talk to without feeling too pressured. She didn't want to ruin any of that. Stepping around Beatrice, she smiled sweetly, "Uh-huh. Know what I think? You guys are totally full of it."

Beatrice raised a red eyebrow, "Are we now? You're the oblivious one here, sweetheart."

"How do you even know if a guy likes you?"

Beatrice paused, thought about it, and then said, "When he looks at ya'. You can see it easily. Googoo eyes. I'm tellin' ya'."

Before Bella could protest any further, the kitchen door opened. Valerie stood there, one hand on her hip and the other balancing a tray of plates, "B, you're regular is here." Bella nodded, giving Beatrice one more sweet-as-candy look before turning on her heel and walking to the front. Before she exited the kitchen, she was sure to take a deep, calming breath. Instantly, she picked out Alice. This time, the small girl wasn't sitting in her usual booth, but at the counter where the group of truck-drivers usually sit. She looked even smaller compared to the large, intimidating truck-driver Luther by her side.

Alice beamed once she caught sight of Bella. It took almost everything in Bella not to flinch at bit. She stopped in front of Alice from behind the counter, trying to come off friendly and casual, "Hey, Alice."

"Hello, Bella!" She seemed excited over something, tilting her head and giving another dazzling smile ( though this time without so much teeth ), "How're you?"

"...fine," Bella stated slowly, pen raised and pressed against the paper of her notebook, ready to take whatever order Alice wasn't going to eat, "How're you?"

"I'm great!" Alice exclaimed. And she did look great - hair perfect as usual, beautiful smile, pretty pale skin, otherworldly beautiful. Even her eyes were a warm butterscotch, "I thought today would be a good day to come and see you. Do you have something to tell me?"

Bella frowned. And then shook her head, "...No, I don't think so?"

Alice's long eyelashes batted in the waitress's direction, "Are you _sure_?"

"Very sure," Bella said, nodding once. Alice was still watching her, eyes beseeching, "I'm guessing you're just going to tell me, right?"

"You are very much right," Alice sing-songed, clasping her small hands together, "I heard there was a baseball game happening later tonight."

Bella blinked once. And then twice. And then almost recoiled. She forgot - Alice had the weird can-see-into-the-future sort of thing going on. Bella wasn't really sure how it worked, but she didn't want to be too prying. Alice smiled widely at Bella's look of trepidation. Pressing her finger against her own temple, Alice teased, "I guess you can say a little birdie today me, hm?"

Bella blew out a sigh, returning her attention to her notepad, "Is there anything I can get you?"

In response, Alice puckered her lips together in disappointment, shoulders slumping immediately, "Bellaaaaa! Please! I want to go!"

Vampires and baseball? Didn't sound like it would mix well. "Mike invited me only. I'm not supposed to just...bring people."

"I can be your plus one!"

"You mean, plus two, plus three, plus four," She was already well aware Alice had told all of the Cullen's. It was her nature.

Alice pressed her lips together, thinking it over for a few seconds, "It can be just me—"

"No, Alice—"

"Please, Bella!" Her voice was hushed, beautiful and melodious. Her eyes were pleading, wide and melting gold, "Please, please. I want us to become closer, friends. Best friends, in fact. It'll be fun."

Bella frowned, twisting her lips slightly to the side. Luckily, Luther was too busy munching on his buscuit to even pay attention to their conversation. He probably hadn't even noticed Alice's presence, "Do vampires even like baseball?" Her tone sounded a lot like defeat.

Alice's smile became so wide and bright that Bella almost looked away, "It's the American pastime, Ms. Swan."

"Right," Bella nearly groaned, "Just...dress normally, Alice. Casual."

"What's wrong with my outfit right now?" Cashmere sweater that looked like it cost Bella's entire paycheck, knee high, sleek boots, white slacks - she looked like a runway model. Bella merely gave her a deadpan look. In reply, Alice nodded frantically, "Right. Casual. I can swipe something from Emmett." With that, she hopped off her stool, grabbing a hold of her purse and other belongings.

As she began to leave, Bella called out behind her, "Don't bring anyone else, Alice! I'm serious!"

Alice beamed in her direction. And then she was out the door. Bella wanted to beat her head against the counter. When she lifted her head slightly and glanced over, she caught sight of Micah staring at her from Beatrice's section - he was currently wiping down a table. Once he noticed that Bella had caught her staring, he quickly pushed back his long, messy curls with one hand and went back to work at scrubbing at the table. That response only made Bella gnaw at her bottom lip, tightening her hands around her pen and paper.

"Hey, Bella!"

Bella turned in the sound of the voice. Valerie was there again, dirty dishes stacked high in her arms, "Someone just walked into my section. Can you take their order for me real quick?"

The brunette nodded, "Yeah, sure." And opened the kitchen door for Valerie to help her get through. Rounding the counter, she threw one more glance in Micah's direction before crossing the diner. Once she got to the table, she was already setting down a menu in front of the customer, "Here you are. Is there anything I can get you?"

"What's your specials?" replied the gruff, familiar voice.

Bella looked up and did a double-take. Charlie was there, still in his uniform and sitting back in his seat. He was trying and failing to come off casual - reminded Bella a lot of herself. Bella's face broke out into a smile immediately, quickly moving forward and embracing her father in a one-armed hug, "Hey, Dad! What're you doing here?"

"Lunch break, kiddo." He smiled his soft smile that brought out the wrinkles in his face and went back to work at flipping through the menu, "I should probably wait to order, huh?"

Bella blinked, "Hm? Why? Waiting on someone?"

At her look, Charlie flushed, appearing uncomfortable, "It's not a date or anything, Bells, it's—"

"Not a date? Aw, Chief, I'm crushed," Coming from behind Bella, Jacob stood next to her, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. Bella had almost forgotten how tall he was - even taller than Paul - she had to crane her head up to even get a good look at his face. He slanted Bella an amused look, teeth bright against his complexion when he smiled at her, "I asked your dad out for lunch."

Before Bella could ask why, Charlie grumbled, "He thinks I need more to eat than pizza and takeout."

Bella grimaced, "Dad, I told you that you can heat up the leftovers I leave you."

"Too tired when I get home, I guess."

Jacob snorted, "But not too tired to order Chinese."

Bella rested her hands on her hips, giving them both disapproving looks, "Honestly. Dad, you can't live off of take-out."

"I know, I know." All three of them spoke for a few minutes before Bella and Jacob began bantering back and forth. Charlie, seeing this, quietly stood from the booth and maneuvered his way around his daughter, "I'm gonna head to the restroom." He moved rather quickly - Bella's forehead wrinkled slightly before she glanced back towards Jacob. Just seeing him, she was reminded how much she'd exactly missed him - his sunny smiles, his large frame standing beside her, his quick remarks and humor.

Jacob rested his large hands on the table, staring at her, "Stinks in here."

Bella blinked, "Oh, well - Damion's making chowder today—"

"No," Jacob was quick to cut her off, "smells _dead_ in here."

Oh. Right. Bella pressed her lips together, mulling it over for a few seconds, "Alice was here."

"The small one?"

"Yes," Bella nodded once, tapping her pen against her open palm a few times, "She's relentless. Scary, but...nice."

Jacob immediately grimaced at that, muscles tensing beneath his short-sleeved shirt, "She's _dead_. Don't be fooled by that crap, Bella. That's exactly what those bloodsuckers do, everything about them is supposed to draw you in. It's all they rely on. They _stink_."

Bella, deciding she didn't want to even approach this topic, remained quiet for awhile. And then said, "Where've you been? I missed you."

It was an almost instantaneous reaction on Jacob's part. The hard planes of his face fell away quickly, revealing the beautiful, soft boy underneath. Bella instinctively smiled - the corners of her lips hitching upwards until it began to hurt, she always smiled a bit too much around him, "Sorry. I was busy. Sam's got us running patrols every night now."

Hearing that made Bella's smile fall just as quickly as it'd come, "What? Why?"

He didn't say anything at first - the hardness was back, not on his expression, but his eyes. He shook his head, "Nothing you need to worry over."

"That just makes me worry even more, Jake!"

"No need, honey. Even if there was a problem, the pack would have it under control." When Bella continued to give him that wary look, he smiled again, reaching his large hand up and smoothing his rough thumb over her forehead - where the worried wrinkles were, "'Sides, even if we got into trouble, we're durable. And we heal fast."

Bella's eyebrows rose, "How fast?"

Jacob suddenly grinned again, exposing his teeth, "Wanna see?"

"No," Bella's voice sounded tired again - of course, Jacob would offer, "No, I don't. Please." She was still very bad with blood, even her own. She didn't need to see any today, especially when she just finished lunch.

Jacob laughed at her. And then his expression sobered, "You and Paul good?"

Bella paused, shrugged a shoulder noncommittally, "I guess."

"...good. That's good. He's been in a better mood these last few days," He sighed, leaning back in the booth, "Kind of makes me jealous."

Bella's eyebrows rose again, curiosity flickering across her face, "Jealous? Of what?"

Jacob stared up at her with his dark brown eyes. There was an unreadable expression there that made Bella gaze back at him, hands loose around her notepad and pen. He looked down, his posture was a little too rigid for his laid-back tone, "Shouldn't talk about it. Might get mad."

Thinking about Jacob angry almost made Bella flinch, she stared at him again, "...And getting mad is bad."

He nodded, expression solemn, "You could say that. It's dangerous. When we get mad, we shift." Suddenly, Bella could remember when Paul had changed right in front of her from his anger - the strong shivers that wracked his form, he'd been nearly blurring in front of her before he exploded. She couldn't help but wonder what that was like for Jacob, what color he was and if he was as big as Paul. "...I don't believe in that stuff."

Bella blinked, breaking away from her thoughts at his voice, "What stuff?"

"Imprinting." He shrugged this time. Bella stiffened at the word, and he watched her carefully, distracted by her reaction. "With Sam, he said it just takes over you. She becomes your whole world. But...I already felt that before." His eyes became less critical, seeming to stare right through her, "I always wondered, though, if you can like - uh, force it, I guess?" And then smiled ruefully, "hasn't been working out for me though."

Bella opened her mouth. Closed it. And opened it again, "Jake—"

"Sorry I took so long," Charlie suddenly spoke up from behind Bella, sliding into the booth carefully.

Jacob, regaining his bright composure, merely smiled, "Looks like you're getting old, Chief."

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie waved a hand in Jacob's direction, and then looked towards Bella, "We ready to order?"

Jacob's eyes flickered back over to his friend, watching as she nodded quickly, offering a nervous smile, "Mhm. Yeah, dad." Jacob's eyes had always been so intense - so intense that afternoon that Bella made sure not to look at him too much.

 _You can see it easily,_ Beatrice had said, _googoo eyes._

 **.**

 **.**

"Erica, do you have anything I can wear to—Oh, my god!" Bella was quick to whirl around so her back was facing the bed, raising her hands reflectively even though she could no longer see the blonde, "I'm so sorry!"

Behind her, Erica was currently on top of her sometimes-ex-sometimes-boyfriend Ethan, naked back shining with sweat and long blonde hair falling over her shoulder when she turned her head. Bella had obviously interrupted them in the middle of sex, and Erica was none too pleased, "Can't you knock?"

"I did knock!" Bella nearly cried, waving her hands around almost frantically, "I knocked three times, Erica!"

"Oh," Erica sniffed. She pushed her hair from her face, aiming a smile down at Ethan, "Sorry. He can get a bit loud." And they both giggled among themselves, Erica leaning down to kiss Ethan deeply. Before they could start up again though, Erica pulled away, nudging her head in the direction of her closet, "If you're looking for something, you can check."

Bella tentatively glanced towards the door, "Anything for sports?"

"For the baseball game?"

"Yes, I have to leave in around thirty minutes..." Bella trailed off when she heard the bed begin to move again. Cheeks hot, she said, "Can you please not do that while I'm in here?"

"Sorry, Bella," Ethan called lazily from beneath Erica.

"Don't talk, sweetie. It's not attractive." The blonde mumbled, out of breath and annoyed.

Bella was quick to grab what she needed, and scamper out of the room. As soon as she shut the door, she could hear them moving again. Bella didn't really know whether to be impressed or annoyed. Once she was dressed, she was leaving. She wasn't particularly comfortable with letting Alice pick her up - even though the girl probably already knew where Bella lived - so she opted to get there on her own. By the time she did get there, Alice was already in the bleachers, sitting towards the top of them and bundled up in a coat with faux fur lining - she had dressed more casual, Bella could tell she at least put in an effort. Alice's entire face lit up once she saw Bella, standing from her seat and waving excitedly, as if Bella couldn't spot her striking features from miles away. Before Bella could head up towards her though, a hand caught her elbow, warm and big through her jacket.

"Hey! You made it," Mike was breathless - he'd obviously jogged over once he saw her. With the night being so cool, she could see that the tips of his ears and nose were pink. He smiled at her, brilliant white teeth flashing, "Get here okay?"

"Mhm," Bella nodded vaguely, casting a glance in Alice's direction to see her golden eyes focused right on them. Quickly, Bella returned her attention to Mike, only to see he was staring right back at Alice.

"Is that...?"

"Alice Cullen? Yes."

He sucked in a surprised breath, blond eyebrows raising on his forehead, "Forgot how...weird she looks."

"Gorgeous works too," Bella was pretty sure Alice could hear them, she was smiling too widely.

"Yeah, that..." Mike trailed off, glancing back towards Bella, "Did she bring anyone else with her?"

"Don't worry," Bella waved a hand dismissively, "I told her not to. She promised." A pause, and then she tried to add in hopefully, "She's harmless."

"Uh-huh," he didn't seem that convinced, but decided to drop it, keeping his eyes focused on her, "Either way, I'm glad you're here. You can cheer me on."

"That's the plan."

"Mike! Hurry up!" a distant voice called, and when Bella peered over Mike's shoulder, she saw a man - probably a co-worker - swinging a bat leisurely, obviously waiting on Mike to finish up the conversation, "Don't got all day!"

Mike nodded, grinning again, "Yeah, yeah! Got it!" He turned back to Bella, excited, "Wish me luck."

Bella couldn't help but return his smile, cheeks pink from the cold and his stare, "If it helps, I'm sure you'll do one-hundred times better than me."

"Yeah, that helps loads, actually," He was laughing at her, watching as her smile stretched wider. And then slowly, he leaned down towards her, dropping a soft kiss to her lips. Bella stiffened, eyes widening on her face when Mike pulled away. He watched her reaction carefully, attempting to check if the move was alright or not. Once Bella didn't put up any protest, only stared back at him, his lips twitched a bit, "Too fast?"

Wordlessly, Bella shook her head. It took a moment for her to find her voice, "N-No. No...it's fine."

This time, his smile was back in full force, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good, 'cause that was my good luck charm." Giving her one more look, he lightly jogged away from her and back to the field, towards his co-workers. It took a few seconds for Bella to get her legs to work, slowly climbing up the bleachers so that she could plop down next to Alice. She could feel that golden gaze digging into her cheek, waiting and watching.

Finally, Bella turned her head, meeting the wide, doe eyes, "What, Alice?"

"Noooothing," Alice divulged, though her tone was a little too playful for Bella's liking, "Mike is pretty cute, isn't he?"

"Are you trying to do the whole "girl talk" thing with me?"

"Heaven's no!" Alice gave a look of faux horror, "I would never!"

Bella didn't know if she was imagining things or not, but Alice seemed to be coming off much more _human_. Probably to make Bella more comfortable around her, and for that, she was a bit thankful. She only knew a handful worth of information about vampires, their customs, and regulations. Carlisle had explained a bit more than Bella was expecting - rules and so on. It was a little much - Bella struggled remembering most of it sometimes. Still, she smiled softly in Alice's direction, "I - uh, like him, I think."

Alice leaned forward eagerly, eyes bright and interested, "Really? Sounds like it." And then sighed almost dreamily, "Must be nice. Humans fall in love so easily...Things change so much for your species." Bella watched her, about to open her mouth to say something, only for a loud whistle to break the silence. Alice jerked upright, immediately paying attention to the field, "Oh! Oh, it's starting!" Throughout the game, Alice was very vocal and excited - she could barely keep still in her seat. It was something rather endearing about that, she was never boring, even if she talked a mile a minute. Bella was actually having a lot of fun, if you could believe it. Alice was beyond beautiful, really. And with her being so close, Bella was able to take in her scent - it wasn't like anything else. Not floral or spice, citrus or musk. There was no way to describe it.

Jacob had said they pulled you in that way - to werewolves, apparently, vampires stunk. And vice-versa. Bella couldn't understand why, everyone smelled fine to me.

Rubbing her chilly hands together, she looked towards Alice, "I should've brought something to snack on—" Suddenly, Alice tensed. Her face was blank, eyes wide and unseeing. Like someone had pressed down on her PAUSE button. Bella couldn't help but stare. Gingerly, she reached out and placed a hand on Alice's immobile shoulder, wary, "Alice?"

Just as quickly, Alice snapped out of whatever kind of trance she'd been in. She looked towards her right, locking eyes with Bella, "Hm?" Even with her face being unreadable, it was an abrupt change from before.

Bella stared, eyes searching her pixie-like features, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Alice nodded, seeming distracted, like her brain was moving too fast to focus, "I'm fine."

"...Okay," Bella said slowly, returning her attention to the game. Alice was frozen next to her, too solid and still to be considered normal.

Quietly, she murmured, "I might have to go soon."

Bella didn't get a chance to answer, the whistle had been blown again and players were moving from the outer fields to inner. Even Mike, who'd been on the bat, put it down so that he could take a breather. "Hold that thought," she uttered to Alice. After the kiss, Bella's attention had been focusing on Mike more than she thought it would. Even with her being so close to a dangerous vampire, she was only thinking of Mike.

Figures.

His kiss hadn't been like Paul's. Not overwhelming, too strong, too hot, frantic. It was soft - slow, something she was more used to. Or could at least become used to it. The feelings both of the men lifted inside of her were completely different. Paul's intensity was almost frightening, but otherworldly and impossible to ignore. Mike's was soft, more easy to manage and gladly welcomed. As she moved down the bleachers, by passing a couple of other people who'd come to see their family members play, she stopped in front of Mike, "Are you guys finished?"

Mike laughed, reaching up to wipe sweat off his brow, "You don't know much about sports, do you?"

"Nope," Mike laughed at her blunt answer, "Charlie - my dad, he watches them. Big fan. Me, not so much. But all I had to do was stay focused on you, right?"

Mike smiled fondly at her answer, his blue eyes were staring into her brown ones, soft and gentle, "Right, yeah." And then he glanced up towards the bleachers, eyebrows raising on his forehead, "Your friend left already? That was quick."

Bella's forehead crumbled. She followed his gaze, only to see he was right. Alice was nowhere to be seen - surprised, Bella flickered her eyes around the area. No sign of her. She'd been there not even a minute ago. Slowly, she turned back to Mike, taking in his look of curiosity, "Yes! She said that she needed to work out something. So I told her it was okay to leave." Bella was never very good when it came to lying, but Mike seemed to buy it.

"Don't worry about it, Cullen's have always been a little...off, I suppose," He didn't know the half of it. He continued, "Looks like you're my lucky charm though. Whatever voodoo magic skills you're using, keep doing it. It's working."

Bella nodded, laughing some. It wasn't long before another whistle was blown and Mike was forced to get back to the field. Before he joined his co-workers though, he said, "Dinner after this? I'll buy." Bella nodded quickly - she didn't need to even think about it when it came to Mike, really. Flashing his million dollar smile, he jogged back over to the field.

Bella climbed back up the bleachers after watching him go. Alice was really gone - there was no sign of her ever even being there. She couldn't help but wonder what was the emergency and why she left so quickly. It wasn't long before they were in the second half - or an inning, as Mike had called it - and Bella was patiently waiting for Mike to switch from offense to defense. She'd been closely watching his movements when she heard someone walking towards her on the bleachers.

Bella didn't bother looking up, "Alice, where did you go..." And then trailed off when she saw exactly who it was. Jessica Stanley was standing right beside her, one hand on her hip. Bella slowly looked her over, surprise flitting across her face when she saw the large extension of Jessica's stomach - nearly bulbous, she was close to giving birth, that much was obvious. "...Jessica?"

"Bella," Jessica's tone was clipped, not at all friendly. Even her eyes looked cold.

The situation already seemed tense, Bella slowly stood from her seat, pushing her hands into her jacket pockets, "Hi. How're you?"

"I'm fine."

"...Oh," Bella nodded a bit. It didn't seem like she would be getting much out of the woman, "It's nice to see you. Angela said you visited the hospital a lot when I—"

"I don't speak to Angela."

"...Right," Bella remained quietly for a few seconds, her teeth nibbling at her bottom lip. She tried again, "So, what're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," She nearly sneered, "Here for Mike?"

Was that what this was about? To Bella's knowledge, both Mike and Angela had said that the relationship between Mike and Jessica was long over. Maybe she was angry about something else...? Bella cleared her throat, nodding her head again, "Y-Yes. I am. He invited me."

Jessica's smile was as sharp as a knife, her tone going condescending, "Oh, did he? Funny, he didn't mention anything about it."

Bella, growing defensive and irritated, mumbled, "Why would he mention anything to you?"

"Why?" Jessica snapped at the brunette, " _Why_ , Bella? Really? You want to know why? Probably because I'm his wife."

 **.**

 **.**

It was getting darker. And colder. Bella didn't start to realize that until she was broken from her thoughts. For the last thirty minutes, she'd been walking alone. Or maybe, it'd been an hour. She was losing track. She'd turned off her phone awhile ago, the constant messaging and phone calls were nothing but an annoyance. Mike tried to stop her from leaving, he really did, but once Bella set her mind to something, there wasn't much that could keep her from doing it.

He was still married. He was married. And he hadn't told her. He'd kissed her, he'd helped her out, he'd taken her on a date, and he was still married. Should've known a guy like Mike was way too good to be true, even Erica had said that. Bella scraped her feet against the ground as she walked, staring down at the damp pavement in front of her. It took her awhile to realize that she'd been going in the wrong direction - the little foottraffic she'd seen out and about were heading north, and from what she could tell, buildings over on this side were mostly warehouses. She decided it would be best to head home, take a long hot shower, eat alone, and then sleep. Hopefully stay asleep for a week.

She felt like an idiot.

As she looped around the corner, turning east, she walked a few blocks before she heard laughing from up ahead. There were a group of men there, all around her age - maybe a bit older - dressed too casually to be coming from work and too grimy to be tourists. Bella was sure to give them enough room to get by, they were all laughing among each other, roughhousing and cracking jokes. Bella wasn't even remotely in the mood to deal with it.

"Hey!" One called, the tallest one.

Bella didn't reply, only kept walking. She heard them stop behind her, their laughing dying down for a moment.

"Hey, wait up!" Another called. Bella didn't listen. She kept walking until she could no longer hear them, rubbing at her arms soothingly once a chill shot down her spine. The clouds were thick in the sky, Bella was unsure if it was going to rain or not, but that just spurred her on to go even faster than before. She stopped at a street crossing, staring at her shoes. One had come untied, so she bent down to redo it, only freezing once she heard a few sets of footsteps heading her way.

Cautiously, she looked backwards. She was rather shocked to see two of the guys from before. Bella was only still for a couple seconds before she forced herself up, practically sprinting across the street. She tried to come off as casual, maybe she was just trying to beat the time before more traffic came through. That would be a lie though, there weren't many people out at this hour and especially on this side of town. Fortunately, the footsteps behind her were becoming duller and more far away, and Bella nearly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was short-lived though, because when she came around the corner, she was surprised to see two more guys - from the same group as before. Had they split up? With her heart in her throat, the thought trickled into her head with warning sirens - she wasn't being followed, she was being herded. Forced into one space as they flanked from both sides. With no other choice, she headed down the alleyway to the left of her, quickly and quietly. All four of them followed.

"Hey! Where're you goin', baby?"

"Yeah! Why don'cha let us show you around?"

Bella didn't answer. None of them really deserved one. There was no way of outrunning them, they were tall. She knew how to pace herself, of course, but she was still clumsy, and there were four. Before panic could set in, she tried to remember all of the self-defenses Charlie had taught her - being the Chief of Police daughter had its benefits. Maybe she could scream? At least, attempt to run for it before one caught her? Maybe.

"Stay away from me," Bella said softly - she tried to make it come off as a warning.

The stocky one to her right grinned, "Don't be like that, baby."

Another stepped forward, closer to her, "We'll treat you real good."

Bella was close to screaming. Real close. And she would've if she didn't hear the sudden peal of tires heading in their direction. Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, blinding her and the men. They cursed and yelled, one had to stumble out of the way to avoid getting hit. Bella reflexes weren't as fast, she was fairly close to getting hit herself, but the car unexpectedly fishtailed around, skidding to a stop with the passenger door opened just a few feet away.

"Get in," a furious voice commanded.

Bella blinked, lips parted and staring. She could only get one word out, " _Edward_?"

 **.**

 **.**

 **Hi, guys! Happy New Year! I hope you guys had great holidays, I know I did! A lot happened in this chapter - lemme be specific in where I'm taking the relationships in this story. As you can see, Bella has a lot of possible suitors. Micah, Jacob, Mike, Edward, and Paul. I'm not going to be adding anymore possible suitors, this is more than enough. Each of them will be having small moments with Bella throughout this story, everyone will be able to get a feel of each guy, each bringing different experiences and emotions in Bella, whether it be friendship or romance. But please DO NOT get confused, this is a Bella/Paul fic, he will be getting the most attention. As for Jacob, it's a bit more complicated there - no, he will do everything in his power not to go against Bella and Paul's imprint and relationship, but he still was in love with her first, so its difficult to let go of those emotions. He sees her as more than a friend, he doesn't want to hurt Paul, but he also doesn't want to lose Bella to Paul. It's very complicated. He has tried numerous times to force an imprint when it comes to Bella, so it's very frustrating to see that Paul imprinted on her without any problems. I don't want to butcher Jacob's character or their friendship - of course, for Jacob, friendship always comes first when concerning Bella. Just explaining so there's no confusion.**

 **Also, I don't want you guys thinking Bella is flitting from guy to guy. Quite the opposite, this story is about Bella FINDING HERSELF. It's not about the guys, it's about Bella. There's too many possible suitors as is ( trust me, I didn't mean for her to have this many lol ) but I promise this will all work out in a good way. Most of the relationships are just friendships, crushes on Bella that soon form into friendships, I think she needs friendship more than she needs romantic feelings, really.**

 **Thanks for reading this, please excuse any typos! And please leave a review, I'm excited for what you guys think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**.**

 **.**

Bella stared, flabbergasted, at the person in front of her. It seemed to took too long, because his expression became more intense, more frightening, "Bella. Get in." This time, she didn't dare disobey, pulling herself from the ground and into the car. Slamming the car door shut behind me, Bella didn't even have a chance to open her mouth and speak, much less glance at him, before he was pulling off all of a sudden. Bella quickly yanked on her seatbelt, giving it a few tugs to get it to unlock and strapping it over her midsection.

It was dark inside the car. So when she did look at him, she couldn't see much besides the faint glow of his pale skin. She had no idea where he intended to go, all she knew that she was grateful to be out of the cold and away from the guys that were tailing her. She supposed thank you's were in order, but then again, being in the car with Edward was just another problem. She'd almost forgotten - if just for a second - who and what he was. She didn't even think before the next words were spilling out of her mouth, "Pull over."

Edward didn't reply. Bella couldn't see his face enough to see if she'd gotten a reaction.

"Edward," His hands gripped the steering wheel more tightly, speeding up - he was pushing eighty at that point, "I said stop the car!"

"Do you have any idea what they were going to do to you? What they were thinking?" His voice was calmer, but still consumed by the rage Bella had seen just a few minutes prior. She'd almost forgotten what his voice sounded like - so musical and deep and honeyed, like his family's. His darkened eyes snapped over to hers, "Do you?"

"Yes! I do!" Bella snapped back, making a frustrated movement with her hands, "I was handling it fine, thank you very much!" Lies, but she definitely wasn't going to let him make her feel like an idiot ( seventeen year old Bella who fumbled with her words was twiddling her thumbs away in her head currently ), "So pull over!"

"No."

"Edward!" Her voice was more forceful this time, "Stop this car. Right now!"

And he did. Finally, he jerked to a stop on the side of the highway. There were a series of loud, angry honks behind them, but neither Edward or Bella paid them any mind. Bella leaned back in her seat, realizing she was slightly out of breath when the adrenaline died down. And her head hurt. Cold, scared, and confused - a great combination. And with Bella's luck, she might've ended up dead without Edward's help. Stiffly, she peeked over to look at him. He'd become an immobile statue, his eyes closed and his thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose.

"...Thanks." A pause, "I guess."

Edward didn't reply for a long time. And Bella knew he heard her - the vampire hearing and all. Finally, he said, "You're welcome." And then he inhaled, blowing it out a few seconds later with a deep sigh. He still looked angry, but had calmed down considerably in the last few moments, "I apologize. Sometimes...I have a hard time controlling my temper. But it wouldn't be very helpful to hunt down those..." He seemed to struggle for a few seconds, shaking his head at some thought that went through his head, and then continued, "At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself."

"Oh." Bella mumbled, head resting back against her seat. Now that the relief was gone, anxiety was beginning to trickle its way into her stomach. She was with Edward. Edward Cullen. The last person she'd seen before she slipped into her coma years ago. One of the last voices she'd heard before she woken up. He looked exactly the same - the penny colored mess of gorgeous hair, the luminous pale skin, the darkened honey eyes staring at the road in front of them. It was much too dark to really see anything, Bella couldn't really spot any signs to tell where they were exactly. He'd been driving so fast, she wouldn't be surprised if they were close to leaving town. "...I want to go home."

Edward started the engine without hesitation, entering the little traffic smoothly and heading back towards wherever. Bella stayed quiet, staring at the dark road in front of them through the windshield. She could feel the tense waves radiating off of him, but she wasn't particularly in the mood to engage. This time, Edward was the one who spoke up, "Can I ask you a question?"

Bella breathed out through her nose, lifting a hand and rubbing it against her temple to ease the oncoming headache, "Sure."

"What were you doing out there? Somewhere like that? Were you lost?"

Bella licked her lips. She didn't really want to talk about Mike with Edward. Besides the obvious embarrassment on her part, she also didn't feel comfortable enough with the man beside him to give him any details, "...Nothing. I wasn't doing anything."

Edward didn't seem satisfied with her answer, but he didn't push it. Instead, he reached over and turned up the heat more, resting his hand upon his thigh when he was finished. He drove so smoothly, Bella had a hard time believing that they were going so fast. It didn't take long to get back into town, maybe they were closer than Bella originally thought. Next thing she knew, Edward smoothly parallel parked the car and she was staring up at the sign La Bella Italia. Bella blinked, nearly giving herself whiplash when she heard Edward's car door open.

"What're you doing?"

"Taking you to dinner," he replied effortlessly. The golden tone of his eyes were still hard though. His voice was so silken and irresistible, that Bella found herself exiting the car too, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary.

"I'm not hungry," she insisted. It was probably a lie. She hadn't ate since that morning, and Mike had been the one to offer dinner after the game. From all the drama earlier, Bella could only think about sleep at the moment. Food was the farthest thing away from anything she wanted. Still, Edward stared at her, raising a bemused brow at her tone.

"Humor me."

 **.**

 **.**

The restaurant wasn't crowded, thankfully. The two of them found a table with ease thanks to their waitress, and when Edward asked for a more secluded one, she moved them to a booth towards the back with no argument. Bella nearly rolled her eyes at how easy she was "dazzled". It reminded her of her seventeen year old self all over again - fumbling around, staring for far too long, she could go on for a couple hours at least. Once the food was set down in front of her, she began to pick at it, flipping over a ravioli to pluck up a mushroom onto her fork.

She could feel Edward eyeing her from across the table, laser eyes burning into the skin of her forehead. Bella looked up, almost annoyed, "What."

He seemed perplexed, leaning back into his seat, "How are you feeling?"

"...I'm fine." It came out as more of a question than a statement.

"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold...?"

"Should I?"

He chuckled at Bella's puzzled tone, using one of his hands to muffle the sound. Even so, the smile that spread across his face did weird things to her. Mostly made her a little irritated that he was so beautiful in the first place. He wasn't like Mike - who was humanly beautiful with his freckles and slightly crooked nose and perfect ( probably had gotten braces ) teeth. Not like Paul - who was exotically beautiful, with his deep russet skin, silky black hair, and intense features. He was otherworldly beautiful, he couldn't be from this world. He looked more like an alien from a far away galaxy rather than a human, "I'm waiting for you to go into shock, really."

Bella blinked, eyelashes fluttering, "I...don't think that'll happen. After these last few weeks, a lot more than a bunch of perverted men is going to make me go into shock, Edward."

"Right," His expression suddenly darkened, the gold of his eyes becoming hard once more.

"Don't worry. I'm very good at adapting and repressing."

"Mhm..." He didn't look amused, merely distracted. His eyes were distant, glancing at the far wall before looking towards Bella again, "I've heard you recently became friends with Alice."

"Friends is a strong word," Bella replied, finally dipping the mushroom into her mouth. She'd been waving the fork around distractedly for the last two minutes during conversation, "More of...close acquaintances. Besides, she ditched me at the baseball game."

Edward gave a tight smile, "That was probably because of me."

"You?"

"Yes," he nodded once, "I believe Alice has explained everything to you. Carlisle included."

So he knew that she knew. Well, Bella didn't expect much else. She swallowed, reaching over and grabbing a hold of her soda. She took a tentative sip, and then more. She was surprised at how thirsty she was, she hadn't even realized. When she was finished, Edward nudged his drink towards her as well. Bella took it, drinking more carefully and slowly, "Yes." She finally answered in between sips.

"You take everything very smoothly, don't you?" His tone sounded hard this time, but amused as well.

Bella shrugged her shoulders, placing down the glass beside her bowl, "You're still waiting for me to go into shock?"

"You should - a _normal_ person would've already. You don't look shaken at all. Sitting across from me, knowing what I am, what I can do. And earlier, with those men..." He shook his head, a lock of perfect russet hair fell over his forehead and he pushed it away, seemingly frustrated with her, "...This is much harder than I originally planned."

"You know, usually you're not so cranky when your eyes are light." Bella reached over the table, picking up a warm breadstick and dipping it into her pasta.

Edward glanced up, stunned, "What?"

"I remember, in high school, you were always crabbier when your eyes were black. Is it some type of vampire thing?" She paused, watching as his expression became more guarded, "I have a lot of theories, you know. Since Alice was so vague in most of her explanations."

"Theories?"

"Mhmm..." She chewed on the corner of the breadstick - it was actually really good. "But never mind that, what were you saying earlier? About Alice?"

"I want to hear these theories."

"They're not important."

He sighed this time, rubbing a long white hand over his defined jaw. He seemed to be mulling it over - probably a proper answer to tell the little human, "...Alice knew I was in town before anyone else. She was trying to stop me."

"Stop you...?" Bella's head tilted.

"From finding you." She still didn't understand, and so she continued to stare at him, curious. He spoke again, "From finding you. And killing you." When her back went ramrod, heart jumping at the admission, Edward smiled a wry smile, "Ah, that's the reaction I was waiting for."

Bella busied herself with her hands, poking her fork into a ravioli and bringing it to her mouth. She didn't eat it yet though, "I don't understand."

He raised a perfect brow towards her, "Which part?"

"All of it." She swallowed, finally bringing the food to her lips and chewing. Once she was done, she said, "I'll eat. And you talk, how about that?"Edward was watching her carefully, as if waiting for her to back out of whatever they were doing. And then he began speaking. He told her about where he'd gone - how he'd been in school for a little while before he left, about how Carlisle and the family was worried, about the traveling he'd done while Bella was in the hospital. The "training" he'd put himself through to be able to one day see her again. Bella watched him, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth, she was completely captivated, "And a Singer is...?"

"Someone who's blood you are drawn to. It's actually rather rare."

"And I'm your Singer?"

"Yes," he nodded slowly, waiting for her reaction, "It's why I tried to stay away from you for so long. It's why..." Again, he shook his head, "Alice can see many different possibilities, the future is never set in stone. In one, she saw me coming into town, finding you, and murdering you. She wanted to be certain that I wouldn't. I didn't think I had any intentions to do so...but I wouldn't exactly put it past me either. I was going to distance myself from you when I came here, but then...Alice said you were in trouble."

"That's how you found me so quickly..."

"You're also not that hard to track," he shrugged his broad shoulders, folding his hands onto the table.

Bella nodded vaguely, but she couldn't get much out. Finally, she placed down her fork, glancing towards the front of the restaurant, where the doors were, "I want to go home." She whispered for the second time that night.

"I'll get the check."

 **.**

 **.**

That night, Bella dreamed. She would rather call it a dream than a nightmare. Alice was there - she starred in most of Bella's dreams as of late - but her eyes were different. Her eyes were gold. She was staring directly at Bella, the delicate skin between her eyebrows creased and worried. Bella remembered her saying "don't go, Bella! Please, don't go!" Her voice was so heartbreaking and frantic that Bella yearned to stay with her, with everything in her being. But her body was being turned somewhere else, her legs moving on their own record. And when she turned and looked, she saw the silver wolf standing just three feet away from her, dark pools of brown staring straight at her.

Bella awoke, covered in sweat, hair sticking to her shoulders and neck. Sighing, she shoved a hand through her hair to push it out of her face. Beside her, her phone was vibrating. She took one glance at it, rolled her eyes, and then stood from bed. Last night had been - well, _something_. Instead of allowing Edward to take her home, Bella opted for a cab. Edward didn't want to let her go without keeping an eye on her ( he seemed like a worrywart, really ), but he relented once he saw Bella's mind was made up. Probably shouldn't have told her the whole "I want to eat you" thing. When she'd gotten home, it'd been late and Erica was already in bed. Bella decided to follow her lead, it didn't take long to fall asleep, but with the recurring weird dreams and the amount of times Mike called her, Bella was struggling to even keep her eyes closed.

When she was finished with showering, she scrubbed at her teeth, frustrated and drained. She didn't spot Erica until she was finished with making lunch, Erica swiped one of her grilled cheese, in her work uniform and hair piled high on her head, "Hey, how was last night?" Bella gave her a look, "That bad?"

Bella suddenly didn't feel hungry again, just from thinking about last night. Instead, she nudged her plate towards Erica, indicating she could have at it, "Yes. That bad." A pause, "How was the morning shift?"

Erica didn't disappoint, biting into the sandwich with gusto. With her mouth full, she replied, "Shitty. Beatrice is a bitch in the morning, you know that?"

"Everyone knows that. You're the only one that hasn't come in during morning shifts."

"I need my beauty sleep." Then she smiled mischievously, "Speaking of beauties, lover boy is outside for you."

Bella jerked, glancing towards the door almost wildly, "Are you serious?" The brunette hissed, making her way over to the window to check if she could see anything. It was late afternoon, the sun out and it looked like a nice day for a jog, actually. Bella scowled, spotting Mike's fancy car easily. "Oh, _great_."

Erica raised a brow, she looked interested, even as she kept stuffing her face with bread and cheese, "Was the date that bad?"

"Yes!" Bella glared at the stupid car before finally looking towards her roommate, "It was worse than bad. It was terrible. He kissed me and—"

"Wait! He _kissed_ you?!"

"That's not important! His wife showed up!"

"He has a _wife_?!" Erica's mouth was hanging open at that point, sandwich forgotten.

"A _pregnant_ wife!"

"Oh. My. God."

"Right?" Bella looked towards her friend, at a loss. When she finished telling the story - the baseball game, Alice leaving, the kiss, and Jessica showing up with a big, obviously pregnant belly, Erica looked beyond shocked. And then pissed.

"Are you serious? What the hell—What kind of piece of shit—" She stopped before she could finish, sitting down the plate and making her way towards the door.

Bella gripped her arm before she could go far, "What're you doing? He's out there!"

"I know! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"No way, Erica! Don't," Erica looked at her, murder in her eyes, "Don't, I'm serious." Bella hesitated, gnawing on her bottom lip, then decided, "I'll do it, okay?" Better to do it herself, rather than Erica. Erica might actually hurt the guy, or worse, his car. Bella didn't want to explain any of this to her dad either. After putting on her shoes and jacket, Bella took the elevator downstairs to the front. As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Mike standing off. He looked up at the sound of the door, and Bella immediately noticed how tired he looked - he looked like he got even less sleep than her.

"Bella!" He stepped up towards her, and Bella crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at him from the highest step. He stopped immediately at her look, "...Look," Mike held up his hands in a placating way, as if to defuse the situation, "Let me explain, Bella. Please."

Bella glanced away from his face - it looked way too vulnerable. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to feel upset? Not him, "I don't really want to hear any type of explanation, Mike."

"And I can understand that!" He said quickly, "But - But I need to tell you. Jessica and I aren't together anymore."

Bella scoffed, "Jessica said something completely different last night."

"That's because...legally, we're still married. Only legally. I'm not staying with her anymore. I promise. I'm staying in a loft I'm renting and she's staying in the main house. I promise you, Bella. I haven't been with her at all." His eyes were passionate, serious. The blue a touch darker, "Bella—please...please, listen to me." He moved farther up the steps, still keeping a couple between them, "Please. The baby isn't even mine. It's not mine. That's why we're separated in the first place. She cheated on me. She lied to me. I left her." He reached out to touch her hand.

She moved back before he could touch her.

"That weekend...that weekend you asked me to come to the baseball game with you. When I was moving. Was it really your boss on the phone?" The two of them stared at each other for a long time, Mike refused to break eye contact with her, but his expression was defeated. He already knew she knew the answer to that. She just wanted to be sure, "I think you should go, Mike." His eyes looked wide and wet, staring up at her beseechingly. Bella didn't waver - _couldn't_ waver.

"Bella—"

"Please," she whispered, voice far too soft, he probably couldn't hear her very well, "Please leave, Mike."

He stared at her for a little longer. Then finally turned away, getting into his car and driving off. Bella waited until the car was out of sight before she allowed herself to pretty much collapse on the steps, sitting down heavily and burying her face in her hands.

 **.**

 **.**

"You seem distracted."

"Probably because I am," Bella mumbled, not even bothering to cast a glance at their newest employee, Ava. She was a preppy redhead that talked a mile a minute and always had pretty juicy gossip to tell. Beatrice had loved her immediately. Bella - not so much. Not only did she have to train the girl, but also manage her section of tables, along with Rita's, who had called out because her four-year-old daughter had a bad stomach flu. Ava didn't know how to be quiet, and it was quickly wearing on Bella's nerves, having to listen to her chatter along with trying to ignore everything that happened to her over the last few days wasn't easy. "Listen," Bella said, breaking Ava out of her ramblings, "Could you go restock up the ketchup? Like how I taught you."

Ava, eager as always, smiled and nodded her head fast. Bella watched her skip off, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her back. She didn't want to be rude. Valerie seemed to notice - she was packing up for the night, looping her arms through her jacket and making her way over to Bella, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow, "You okay?"

Bella glanced at her. Then away. She needed to finish loading up the dish washer, "Uh - yeah, I'm fine, Valerie. Thanks." When Valerie gave her a disbelieving look, Bella shrugged it off, attempting to come off as casual, "I just...it's just a lot on my plate right now."

Valerie nodded, still eyeing her, "If you need to talk about it, I'm here, y'know. Erica ain't the only one that can give good advice. Scratch that, she doesn't even give _good_ advice. Her advice either ends you up in trouble or an awkward situation," Well, that wasn't particularly a lie, but Bella just gave another vague shrug, "Seriously, B. You take on way too much to not talk about it." Affectionately, she touched Bella's forearm, "I'm here, 'kay?"

Bella, slightly touched, nodded this time, "Thanks." And this time, she meant it. She was actually lucky that no news had spread around yet, with how small Forks was, she was just waiting for some gossipers to get their hands on Bella's love life - or lack thereof. Especially someone like Ava. When Valerie was gone, Bella finished up the dishes by herself and dried her hands once she was done. It was closing time, Bella and Ava were the only ones left - Beatrice had left early, and Valerie always stayed behind to help with checking stock.

"You can go, Ava," Bella said once they were done wiping down the tables and sweeping, "Thanks."

Ava blinked, and then excitement quickly flashed across her face, "Really?!"

It didn't take long before she was gone too. And Bella was left to cleaning off the stools and counters, taking the money from the tip jar and adding most of it to the register - locking it right after. While she was counting down her tips, she heard the bell over the door open, and without looking up, she called out, "We're closed." There was no other noise, not of the bell moving again either, "Hey, didn't you hear what I said? I said we're—"

"Closed, yeah. I got it," came the gruff reply. When Bella looked up, she was surprised to see Paul there. He was actually dressed today - hair brushed, a fitted black t-shirt on with a slight v-neck, and dark jeans. Bella stared for a little longer than necessary at his arms, which were crossed over his chest tightly. Once they locked eyes, she quickly looked down, returning her attention to her money ( or at least, trying to ).

"What're you doing here?" She finally murmured, peeking up at him through her lashes.

Paul shrugged, moving closer to the counter slowly, "Wanted to see you." Like it was the simplest thing in the world, like the need to see her was just a natural want. Maybe it was for him. And maybe it was for her too.

The heat of his stare was burning into her. Bella could never get used to how aware her body was of him. She felt warmer when he was near, safer. The constant numbed pull in her chest wasn't so bad anymore, like the cord was waiting for Paul to get closer, giving it some type of slack. Whether she liked it or not, when she was around him, it was easier to function, but much harder to think. Her skin crawled, to touch, to feel his. She could practically feel the warm waves radiating off of him, he was like a personal heater, really.

"Is it always like this?" She found herself asking, more to herself rather than him, though.

Paul, with his superb hearing, picked it up though, "Always like what?"

"Always...warm. When you're close, it's _different_. I don't know how to explain it..." She trailed off once she noticed the intense look he was giving her, the dark coloring of his eyes somehow made them even more exotic, she was staring again - she knew that. Her cheeks felt hot, along with the tips of her ears, "Sorry. Does that sound weird?"

Slowly, a crooked smile made its way across his face, starting out small before it stretched its way across his cheeks, his white teeth striking against his dark skin, "You're fucking gorgeous when you do that?"

The blush was darkening, spreading down her neck now, "Do what?"

"That." He dragged his eyes down her face, stopping at her lips, and then jaw, and then watching her blush travel farther down. He leaned across the counter slowly, as if waiting for her to back away from him or ask him to move away - like the other times. But his warmth was so much comforting than anything she'd ever known. It was so much different than Mike's, or Edwards, or any other guy she could possibly compare him to. He was something she couldn't help but gravitate towards, and the same went for him, they both knew that, in the end. When he was close enough to her, slightly bent down so their faces were at the same level of height, he whispered, "You're so fucking beautiful, Isabella."

The blush felt red hot by then, pretty much her entire body felt flushed. She'd expected a different reaction, especially when she'd felt so close to Mike a few days ago. But like she'd thought, Mike was nowhere close to Paul. Paul was on an entirely different level than any of them. She was sure it was the Imprint that caused these types of feelings, it was irrevocable and impossible to fight, even on her end. And the obvious attraction wasn't helping - it made things more frustrating actually. Paul continued, he didn't allow her to keep a clear head for too long, "Y'know, I'm getting a little sick of this back and forth. When're you gonna lemme take you somewhere?"

Bella rose an eyebrow, "Like to your house?"

He smiled again, slow and burning, "I like the way you think. But nah. I wanna date."

"A date?" Lately, she hasn't been that great with those.

He easily snuffed out her hesitation, "If you think I'm gonna take no for an answer," he lifted her chin between his too-warm fingers, forcing her to look at him, "You got another thing comin', sweetheart. Date. You and me. This weekend."

Bella met his stare head-on, he liked that about her, "Who said I was going to say no?"

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 **Okay! So I'm done with messing around with these two, I want to get the ball rolling more with the werewolves and Paul/Bella. No more other suitors for awhile, I want to develop their relationship more and write some chemistry, also some kisses and maybe throw in a few - AHEM - lemon scenes. For now, we're going to start on a date, see how it goes from there. Sorry this took so long to get out, I need to be in the mood to write. And when I start writing, I can't stop either. It's either I finish all of it in a few hours or none.**

 **Please leave me something nice. What you guys thought of this chapter and any type of feedback. I haven't checked this chapter, so typos galore!**


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